More Than it Seems: Shadow Over All
by KuroGalaxy14
Summary: Sequel to Rearrengement: More Than it Seems. It has been a few months since the reappearance and defeat of Hades Inc., and Gingka is still reeling from the attack when a new threat shows its face. Will Gingka and the others be able to stop this threat, or will its second attempt succeed?
1. Prologue

**Okay, okay, so I know that I've been a slacker on updating Eye of the Storm 2: Black Storm, but the writer's block for that story is killing me and it's now November, which means... NaNoWriMo has started. SO, this is this year's NaNo project, which I am working on while trying to sort through a few loopholes with EOTS2. This story is the sequel to Rearrangement: More Than it Seems, and if you have not read that story, you need to do so before reading this one, otherwise you'll get major spoilers. If you have already read Rearrengement, then enjoy and please review!**

* * *

"Gingka…"

Gingka's eyes snapped open and he looked around, gasping at his surroundings. He was trapped, once more, inside the Arrangement System, with his friends hovering over him trying to get him out. However, nothing seemed to be quite working, as they grew more and more frantic, an ominous orange glow behind them growing ever brighter and closer, heat seeping through the canopy of the Arrangement System and making it hard to breathe.

"Just get out of here!" Gingka exclaimed, nearly able to see the flames threatening to burn everyone alive. He did not want to see anyone else die, much less a second time, he thought frantically as his gaze swept over them all; Madoka, his father, Zero, and many others who were becoming barely discernible through the flames.

"Gingka!" Madoka shouted out, and suddenly Gingka noticed that none of them were actually speaking, their forms twisting into nightmarish forms.

"Nightmare. It's a nightmare all over again." Gingka thought, willing himself to stay calm even as Pegasus leapt in his mind, tearing at the reins and struggling to lash out at the perceived danger.

"Wake up you big idiot!" a splash of ice cold water across his face finally jolted Gingka out of the nightmare he had managed to trap himself in as he yelped and sat bolt upright in bed, water soaking his hair and shirt.

"Goodness, stop worrying us in the middle of the night like that!" Madoka was already scolding him, wagging a finger in his face sternly as she rested her other hand, and the empty cup, on her hip.

"... Thanks." Gingka muttered, running his fingers through his hair and shivering slightly from both the memory of his recent nightmare and the ice that had fallen into his lap as he sat up.

"I got a towel already this time." Zero's sleepy voice said as the younger blader wandered in, nearly running into the doorway before tossing a towel into Gingka's face.

Gingka chuckled softly and stood, playfully flinging ice at Madoka and Zero. "Sorry to wake you.. Again."

"The Arrangement System again?" Madoka guessed.

Gingka nodded. "Been months but it still likes to poke its head into my nightmares." he sighed.

Madoka reached up and put her hands on his shoulders comfortingly. "But we defeated it, don't forget." She assured.

"I know." Gingka chuckled, then sighed. "I just hope that it's the end of our problems."

"Knowing the world, it won't be." Zero grumbled. "It's fun overcoming things and all, but can't the world just stay calm for, I dunno, a few years?"

Gingka chuckled. "It did. And then you got strong enough to beat the challenges and it picked right back up where it left off."

Zero stuck his tongue out at this. "Stupid world. Can't you just take the next one down for me?"

Gingka rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten that I wasn't able to help the last couple of times because my bey was part of the problem?"

"Yeah you gotta keep a closer eye on it." Zero teased. "The wild horse is behaving just like it should without you to rein it in."

Gingka mock-pouted at this. "Hey, not my fault Pegasus likes a good fight." he protested.

Zero merely grinned. "If you want to fight me you just gotta ask instead of pulling all the crazy stuff."

"Oh, as if that were my fault!" Gingka exclaimed. "You wanna go?"

"Guys…" Madoka tried to break into the heating conversation.

"I'll take you anytime!" Zero exclaimed, blue eyes burning intensely as his hands moved to where his gear sat. Why he had it on over his pajamas, Madoka could never understand.

Gingka smirked and Pegasus was suddenly in his hand, as if he had summoned it there from wherever it had been resting. "Stadium's just down the street unless you'd prefer the open air."

"Guys!" Madoka exclaimed in exasperation, finally getting the attention of the two bladers.

"Is something wrong, Madoka?" Gingka asked, raising an eyebrow and looking clueless.

"It's two in the morning! You can't have a battle right now, it would wake everyone in the city up!" Madoka exclaimed, putting both hands on her hips and her face in Gingka's sternly.

"... Oh. Right." Zero yawned, suddenly remembering how tired he was.

Gingka paused and looked pouty for a moment, although the mischief in his eyes betrayed his thoughts all too well to Madoka, or so she thought.

"And if you think I'm letting you sneak out to do it anyway-" She began, but Gingka cut her off with a swift kiss to the cheek.

"Relax, Madoka. I'm not THAT crazy." Gingka said as he swung himself back into bed and stretched with a contented sigh. "But Zero, tomorrow, first thing, you and me."

"You're on." Zero yawned, already half asleep again.

Madoka snapped out of her momentary surprise and chuckled softly, grabbing the top edge of Gingka's blanket and pulling it over his head. "Go back to sleep, Gingka."

"Yes ma'am." Gingka made a mock bow without bothering to remove the blanket from his head, causing a rather comical scene.

Madoka chuckled and guided Zero back to his room before going back to her repair desk with a sigh. Despite it having been a few months since the enormous incident with Spiral Force, she still worried about Gingka's mental state. She knew him well enough to know that it probably still bothered him much more than he let on. After all, it was typical Gingka to not talk about things that bothered him until he reached a breaking point. The nightmares he kept having frequently were an indicator that it was probably always in the back of his mind. He had spoken very little about what had happened in his own mind while he was under the influence of whatever Ziggurat had done to him, but Madoka knew that her own death had somehow been involved. Gingka had never said how she was killed in the subconscious world he had been trapped in while forced to fight them, but she suspected it was not pretty. Not like death ever was in the first place, after all.

The brunette sighed as she sat down, eyeing the ring sparkling on her hand with a content smile.

"He acts like an idiot, but he's not as much of one as he seems, is he?" She sighed to herself, polishing the gem against her shirt before examining it again, tilting her hand slightly and enjoying the sparkle that resulted.

"Oi. Mechanic girl." A voice startled her out of her trance and she looked around in alarm, but saw no one.

"Who's there?!" Madoka exclaimed, trying to find the source of the sound.

"Not important." the voice scoffed, as if reluctant to be talking to her at all. "Best watch your back though. Another threat's coming."

"... And you know this how? Who are you?" Madoka asked, locating the source of the sound: her computer's speakers.

"Like I said. Not important. Best warn Hagane and the others as soon as possible."

"Now hang on a minute!" Madoka exclaimed, hacker instincts kicking in as she tried to figure out how this person was talking to her and more importantly, who and where they were. "Don't you have any details? The last thing we need here is to be more paranoid about things."

The voice snorted. "Paranoid? You're the only one I remember being like that, mechanic girl."

Madoka gained a tick mark. "And just exactly what is that supposed to mean?!"

"Madoka? Who are you talking to?" Gingka's voice came from the top of the stairs.

Madoka turned and opened her mouth to reply.

"I'll be going now." The voice said before cutting out abruptly as Gingka came down the stairs, rubbing a towel on his still-wet hair.

"I wish I knew." Madoka sighed, deciding not to tell Gingka what she had been told until she got more proof. "Some weird prank caller or something."

"... At two in the morning?" Gingka raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Madoka cast around frantically for an explanation before rolling her eyes, standing, and putting one hand on her hip, sticking her other finger in Gingka's face and wagging it between his eyes. "As if you're one to talk when you and Masamune prank called your dad at this same time during the World Championships!" She exclaimed.

"... Point." Gingka caved, looking sheepish and gently pushing her hand out of his face. "Now why aren't you in bed? I know you like to stay up late getting work done but it's still not good for your health."

"I still have three beys to fix." Madoka whined in protest.

"You can fix them tomorrow." Gingka rolled his eyes and gave her a serious look.

"But the bladers will want them first thing tomorrow!"

"They'll have to wait."

"As if you yourself ever accepted that excuse!"

"... I'm not THAT impatient."

"Oh-ho! You think so, eh? Need I remind you of the time just after we first met, when Kenta's bey got stolen and you just HAD to go right then instead of waiting for Pegasus' repairs to be complete."

"Sagittario was at stake there, you can't blame me for that one."

"Or the time right after you found Galaxy Pegasus, when I could barely work five minutes without you hanging over my shoulder asking if it was finished yet. You even tried to grab it off the desk and go battle with it when I wasn't looking."

"... Masamune was stalking me!"

"Or right after your bey transformed and you nearly blew up that island with Kyoya. You were insisting on a rematch with him the next day even though I told you Pegasus wasn't ready!"

"You were taking extra time examining all of its features instead of just fixing it!"

"Or the time it nearly broke during the battle with Nemesis and you took it before it was finished because you couldn't wait, and your following battle against Kyoya shattered it." Madoka said pointedly.

Gingka faltered at this. "... Okay, fine, you have a point." He sighed. "But can't you just get Maru to help you early in the morning? You can make other bladers wait."

"I couldn't make you wait." Madoka rolled her eyes.

Gingka smirked. "Because you can't resist me." he said pointedly, nodding to the engagement ring on her finger.

Madoka's mouth dropped open and she crossed her arms sternly. "You sure have nerve, Gingka Hagane!" She exclaimed snippily.

Gingka laughed and waved her off. "You can't deny that one."

"Okay, so you're right. Your point-hey!" Madoka exclaimed as Gingka bent down and swept her off her feet, carrying her up the stairs.

"You're going to bed, now. And then I'm going back to bed." Gingka said, carrying her to her room and setting her at the door carefully, nudging her inside. "Don't make me sleep right here outside your door to make sure you don't sneak back downstairs."

Madoka rolled her eyes. "Fine, you win this round. I'll sleep."

Gingka grinned, eyes gleaming with nearly the same triumph they held when he won a bey battle. "Good. I expect to see you sleeping in your bed and NOT at your desk in the morning." He said, turning and heading back to his own room.

Madoka rolled her eyes and chuckled in amusement. "Goodnight, Gingka." She said before going into her room and shutting the door behind her.


	2. Initiation

"Ifrit, get him!"

"Not so fast!"

Madoka sighed and chuckled as she entered the bey park to find that Gingka and Zero's battle was already well underway. She only hoped that they wouldn't get carried away and turn the facility into a crater.

"Come on Gingka, play nice!" Maru laughed. Gingka merely grinned playfully in response, turning his head to look at her.

"And lose out on all the fun? No way!" He exclaimed, dodging Zero's attacks the instant before they hit.

"Gahh! Come on, quit running!" Zero protested, waving his arms wildly in the air as Ifrit nearly leapt out of the stadium's pocket. "Ifrit! Special move, Burning Uppercut! If he won't hold still we'll bring him to us!"

"That's more like it!" Gingka whooped as the flames of Zero's bey rose high.

"Is he ever fazed by any battle like this?" Maru laughed as Gingka began to make a show of weaving in and out of Zero's wall of flames.

"How are you still moving freely?!" Zero yelped.

"Pegasus has too much speed to be dragged up or confined by those rules." Gingka laughed. "To the outside, Pegasus!"

"That speed won't do much for you!" Zero exclaimed, pushing his bey to go faster and faster, knowing what Gingka was likely planning due to previous battles against the redhead. "If you go too much to the outside you'll just fall out and I'll win!"

Gingka grinned. "Not if I knock Ifrit out first!"

"You can try!" Zero challenged

Gingka merely laughed, eyes ablaze with excitement as a wall of blue flames rose around Zero's orange and snuffed them out in an instant.

"Not this again!" Zero yelped, shielding his face and peering between his arms as Gingka dramatically swept his arm to the side, unfazed by his own power.

"Pegasus! Storm Bringer!"

Madoka sighed and calmly pulled a lever just before the explosion from Gingka's attack rocked the stadium, throwing several of the less-experienced bladers on their backs.

"Just how much more power do you have, anyway?!" Zero yelled from the top of the stands, where he had landed in a rather tangled up position with a few other bladers.

Gingka just laughed triumphantly, still standing almost precisely where he had been before. "Quite a bit more than that still." He admitted. "But anything much more would blow the stadium away with you guys."

"Even with the special venting system that was installed to reduce the damage caused by those explosions." Madoka shook her head. "Honestly Gingka, how many more stadiums are we going to have to replace because of your recklessness?"

Gingka shrugged. "Who knows? Good thing Tsubasa found a cheaper way to make them."

"Yeah, out of necessity!" Madoka facepalmed. "You're lucky you've always had a friend high-up in the WBBA or you'd have been banned from battling a long time ago because of how destructive your battles always get."

"I'm just glad we padded the stadium walls." Maru groaned, checking her laptop to make sure it wasn't damaged before putting it away as Gingka stepped down from the platform above the stadium, helping a few young bladers up as he made his way to Zero to return Ifrit to his protege.

"Showoff." Zero grumbled as he took his bey and put it away before standing and dusting himself off.

"New record." Gingka smirked in amusement.

Zero stared at him. "... Were you seriously just seeing how far into the stands you could throw me?!"

Gingka flashed one of his signature mischievous grins at the Ifrit blader. "Now Zero, what in the world makes you think I would do that?" He asked as he held up a hand and grabbed Pegasus out of the air.

Zero facepalmed. "Sometimes I seriously can't believe you." he said, before shoving the older blader. Gingka just stood his ground and laughed, ruffling Zero's hair with one hand while the other moved towards his carrying case to put Pegasus away.

"Pegasus is even still glowing, sheesh. Does it normally do that after a higher-power battle?" Zero grumbled, shoving Gingka's hand away from his hair.

Gingka paused and blinked, looking down at Pegasus, then holding it up in front of his face to get a better look at it. "... No. No, it doesn't normally glow like this." He muttered, his tone of voice and entire demeanor suddenly very serious.

Zero blinked, confused at the sudden change of emotion he saw in Gingka's eyes. "Gingka? Is everything okay?" He asked slowly.

"... I'll be back later." Gingka said quickly before turning away and bolting out of the stadium as fast as he could run.

"Wha-Gingka?! Where are you going?!" Madoka yelped as the redhead nearly knocked her over in his dash for the exit.

"Well that escalated quickly." Maru said, blinking and staring after the redhead as he disappeared.

"Madoka, does Pegasus glowing on its own mean anything significant?" Zero asked, joining the girls where they stood.

Madoka blinked. "Like glowing how?"

"Just… glowing. I pointed it out to him thinking that it was something from the aftermath of the battle but then he got really serious and bolted." Zero said.

Madoka narrowed her eyes in thought. "That's unusual. Pegasus glows when it's in the middle of battle sure, but never out of it that I- Oh. Oh no. Gingka wait for me!" She turned and bolted after her fiance, leaving Zero and Maru to blink cluelessly.

"... Should we follow them and find out what's up?" Maru asked slowly.

Zero nodded. "If we can even catch up." He said. "Come on. We can at least ask the Manager about it."

With that, the two took off, little knowing but somewhat suspecting the gravity of the situation they were all about to be thrown into.

"Manager!" Zero called as he and Maru entered Bull Burger.

"He's in the back, on the phone." One of the waitresses replied. "He should be with you in just a minute, but you're welcome to go back and wait for him if it's as urgent as your faces suggest."

"Thanks!" Zero said, as he and Maru walked quickly into the back, only to find Benkei with a phone pressed against his ear and a similar serious expression to the one Gingka had had previously.

"You can't be serious about this… No, I don't know if it happened to Gingka too, but I'd be willing to guess that it did. Yes, I remember what it meant last time… I'm not that stupid, Kyoya pal. What? A warning? No I didn't get any sort of weird call like that. Madoka did though. She was telling me about it this morning… Alright, I'll tell them... Bye." He hung up the phone with a sigh.

"You were talking to Kyoya?" Zero blinked in surprise, having not expected the name of Gingka's rival to come up at all.

Benkei turned to the two and put on a rather obviously fake smile. "Yeah, he decided to call me today! How can I help you two?"

"Did he say something about his bey glowing? We already know something's wrong." Maru said.

Benkei sighed, the smile dropping from his face. "It's not your fight, but yes. I assume Gingka's bey was glowing too then?"

Zero and Maru nodded, becoming more and more nervous by the attitude of anyone who found out about the glowing beys.

"Manager… What does that mean? What does the beys glowing mean?" Zero asked.

"And just those two's beys, too?" Maru asked. "I mean, Ifrit isn't glowing."

Benkei ruffled Zero's hair and patted Maru on the head, chuckling. "It's not their first time seeing this. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."

Zero sweatdropped and shoved Benkei's hand away, grumbling. "You say that but how you guys are all acting tells me you're not even sure of that, are you?"

Benkei hesitated.

"Just tell us. We've been through some bad stuff now. We can handle it." Zero said, crossing his arms.

Benkei sighed and shook his head before jumping for his phone as it rang again. "Tsubasa?... Yeah Zero and Maru were just asking about that, I already know what's going on. Kyoya called me and told me too."

"Gingka and Madoka came here and told me. We all know what this probably means." Tsubasa said. "I need you to come here at once. You may as well bring Zero and Maru. They're already suspicious and at this rate, not telling them is more likely to freak them out than telling them. They may as well at least know what we're all so serious about."

Benkei nodded and sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense. We'll be right over there. See you soon."

Zero and Maru glanced at each other nervously as Benkei hung up and put his phone away once more.

"We're going to the WBBA. Tsubasa or Gingka will tell you what's going on once we get there." Benkei said. "Let's get going so they don't have to wait too long."

Zero and Maru nodded nervously and followed Benkei out the door.

"Looks like the real fun's beginning then." One cloaked figure, standing atop a sand dune, said, staring at the sky as clouds swirled before turning to a second cloaked figure behind him.

"I knew it would be soon. That's why I bothered having you help me hack into things so I could warn those who needed to know." the other said.

"You gonna bother helping them?"

"And be bothered? No. Not unless they mess everything up and I have to."

"You really should have given them more details sooner. They could have nipped this in the bud before it really got started as much as it has."

"It's not like I could care what happens to them. I just don't want to see that lunatic pop up again."

"You mean the guy who claimed to be behind Doji, Ziggurat, and Nemesis before, as well as apparently the capture of Gingka twice now in order to make a second attempt with the first two?"

"Precisely. He's messed with my life quite enough and I'm tired of it."

"So you're not going to bother going in and stopping him yourself?"

"Oh please. As if I even can right now. I don't know where he went after I told him to get lost and blasted away his gang of hooligans."

"Suit yourself then. I guess we have that in common." The first cloaked figure said, chuckling.

A derisive snort came from the other figure as he stood, eyes flashing dimly in the moonlight. "Shut up and let's keep moving."

"If you say so." The first figure chuckled and jumped, sliding neatly down the sand dune before rolling at the bottom and shooting back to his feet with practised ease. "You coming?" He asked, only to find that his companion was already standing beside him and walking off towards the next sand dune. The two continued on in silence, disappearing into the desert as they traveled towards the destination that only they really knew.


	3. Discussion

"I'm glad you all could come." Tsubasa sighed as the whole group finally gathered in his office, Zero and Maru glancing worriedly over at Gingka, who was sitting on the couch with a headset on, talking to his father in a low tone.

"What's going on, exactly?" Zero asked.

"I'll explain later. For now, I have a job for you two." Tsubasa said. "We need you to find a friend of Gingka's who we do not have any sort of wired or wireless connection to due to where he lives. It is extremely important that you find this person."

"Who is it?" Maru asked, eager to help.

"Tsubasa, I need this linked to the main screen." Gingka said suddenly, removing one ear of his headset. "My dad wants to tell all of us about something."

"Got it. I'll explain in a moment, Zero." Tsubasa said, pulling out a cord from under his desk and extending it to Gingka, who plugged it into the laptop in front of him, causing Ryo's face to appear on the screen.

"Alright, go. We can all hear you now." Gingka said.

"Good." Ryo sighed. "Tsubasa, you should know that I got two phone calls within the last twenty-four hours that might have something to do with what Gingka was just explaining to me."

"How so?" Tsubasa asked.

"The first gave no name and was male, saying only that we should watch our backs for another threat. I tried to pry out of him who he was but he refused to say."

Madoka gasped at this, recalling her own call from the night before.

"What time did you get that call?" She asked. "And did he use some sort of nickname?"

Ryo blinked, looking at the brunette. "It was as I was up late last night, sorting through papers. I'd guess it was around two in the morning."

"I got a call from the same person. But they seemed to have hacked into my computer and only ever called me 'Mechanic Girl.'"

Ryo frowned. "It had to be the same person then. Their voice came from my computer. Knowing you, you tried to hack it to its source correct?"

"Yeah but I didn't find anything." Madoka said. "It was heavily encrypted and I didn't have time to even get started before I was cut off."

"The person who spoke to me called me 'Man-child.'" Ryo sighed. "It's a similar type of term to what they used for you."

"And they said almost the same thing." Madoka said.

"... And you didn't tell me about this? Is that who I heard you talking to last night?" Gingka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"... I didn't want to worry you until I knew more but apparently we now know more." Madoka sighed. "I'm sorry."

Gingka sighed and nodded. "I understand. Still, I would have liked to have known."

"The creepy thing is that we don't know how they did it." Ryo said. "We know it shouldn't take too much to hack Madoka's computer like that, it's encrypted but not super heavily. My personal computer here at the WBBA, however, is a whole different story. You would have to know the WBBA's security systems or be an extremely good hacker to get in."

"Which leaves us with either someone like Kira and the DNA, or…" Tsubasa trailed off.

"Someone who works for and has access to the WBBA's systems." Ryo nodded. "I'm not entirely sure which is more likely. And there is no trace of this hack. It was not picked up by security."

"Whoever hacked in had the passcodes to get through it." Tsubasa frowned.

"The odd thing is that I would have recognized the voice if it were someone who worked closely with me." Ryo said.

"With how many people work with you, it'd be better to have someone else help look, someone we can trust. Was Kenta there?" Gingka asked.

Ryo shook his head. "He wasn't there when this happened. We got a rare call from our friends over in Africa and he went to help investigate something there."

"Right when we need him." Gingka sighed. "Because we just would have to go looking for everyone again."

"He should be back soon." Ryo said. "He told me he'd be calling me whenever he had an update."

"What was the other phone call about?" Tsubasa asked.

"That was the stranger one. It was also someone trying to warn me, but this person called me by name, a nd was definitely a woman, although I don't recognize her voice. She was trying to disguise it by speaking differently. I suspect I would recognize her normal voice, or she was afraid of someone listening who would. I have the recording of this one. It came after I went to bed, about an hour after the first."

"A voicemail then." Tsubasa said. Ryo nodded and pressed a button on his keyboard.

"This one was also a direct call from outside, but the number was listed as unknown." Ryo said.

"H-Hello Mr. Hagane…" A woman's voice began. "I don't have much time so I'll make this quick. I just wanted to warn you about something. Your son is in danger. You need to get him far, far away from anything he knows well. You have to make him disappear. His life and perhaps even the world are at stake if you don't. Hurry. Please, if you value anything, send him somewhere safe."

Gingka narrowed his eyes as a slight beep indicated the end of the voicemail. "And once again, someone's after me. Big surprise there."

"It has to be all connected." Zero said. "I'm guessing it is, right? I mean, you guys haven't told us why Gingka's and apparently Kyoya's beys were glowing, but if that means something bad, and this one voice was saying that something's about to happen, and then this lady calls and says we have to hide Gingka, it's got to be all connected, right?"

Ryo sighed. "Probably."

"I hate hiding." Gingka grumbled. "Even with what it meant last time, I'd rather fight my enemy face to face than running to hide from him."

"We all would, but you heard that woman. She was pretty panicked." Tsubasa said. "She knows something."

"I can't call her back either." Ryo sighed. "The line isn't connected, I tried. It's like she called from a nonexistent phone line."

"Mr. Hagane, there's a phone call for you." Hikaru's voice called. "It's from a woman. She sounds desperate."

Tsubasa and Ryo glanced at each other.

"Put her through." Ryo said. "To my main phone line, not my computer."

"Will do, Director." Hikaru replied.

Ryo waited a few moments until he heard a tonal sound that indicated Hikaru had patched the caller through. "Ryo Hagane speaking, how may I help you?" He asked calmly. It was no surprise to anyone, based on Hikaru's information, when the same voice from the voicemail came through, sounding even more panicked than before.

"I called last night. Did you receive my message?"

"I did." Ryo said calmly, narrowing his eyes.

"Have you hidden him yet?" She asked, urgency in her voice.

"No. He is on another line and can hear you. I would like to know who you are and why you seem so desperate that he needs to be hidden."

The woman hesitated. "You can call me Himitsu. And please, there's no time to explain. You simply must hide him before they come to take him."

"Just answer me this then." Ryo said. "Who and how do you know?"

"I live with the person who wants him. Now please, hurry! I am out of time. I have to go, I'm sorry." The call cut off abruptly, leaving Ryo and the others with not much more information than they had previously had.

"So all we know is that this lady knows something." Gingka sighed.

"'Himitsu' just means 'secret' so it's not like she really told us anything else there." Madoka sighed. "Did anyone recognize that voice?"

Everyone shook their heads sadly.

"The only new information is that she personally knows whoever it is that's after Gingka." Ryo sighed. "And she seems to not want them to get him."

"I hate not knowing why." Gingka said. "Someone trying to come after me is the least of my worries right now."

Tsubasa nodded. "Yes but if it's related, perhaps it should be a higher priority."

"Pegasus is still glowing." Gingka said. "It may have a new form than last time but it is made out of the same materials. It has the exact same power it had seven years ago. And it is detecting the exact same thing that it was seven years ago."

"What was that?" Zero asked. "You all keep talking about it and I'm not particularly enjoying being left in the dark."

Gingka looked at his protege seriously. "If I told you, you might lose your lunch from sheer panic."

"... Since when have I panicked over a threat?" Zero asked quizzically, although a sliver of fear was in his eyes at how deathly serious Gingka had been when he said that. The redhead clearly was not joking around in his wording.

"Never. But never has a threat you've actively faced been this big, either." Gingka sighed, looking to his father. "So, what do we do? We can gather the others and go to the site, see what's up, which would be my preference, or I can go hide away like a coward."

"When you put it that way the first option sounds much better." Tsubasa facepalmed.

"Well I can't say I enjoy the idea of Himitsu's suggestion, urgent warning or not." Gingka said. "I've been kidnapped twice now and I don't plan on letting it happen again."

"That's just it though." Maru pointed out. "You've been kidnapped. Twice."

"And both times, as you've told us, by falling down a pit and hitting your head." Madoka crossed her arms. "Can't say the villains are being all that creative, but at the same time, when you keep falling for it, they don't need to be."

Gingka sweatdropped. "As if that's the oldest trick in the book for nothing."

"It will take time to gather the others." Ryo said. "Gingka, you can go find some of the remote ones. Tsubasa, I believe I heard you telling Zero you were going to send him to one of them."

Tsubasa nodded. "Assuming that our Jupiter blader is still at his temple, which I see no reason for him not to be, I was going to send Zero and Maru there."

"We can send Gingka to Beylin to gather Saturn." Ryo said. "It's remote and barely anyone knows about it other than those who train there. It will keep him actively in the fight without keeping him here in Japan where people are likely to look for him. We also have direct contact with them, so if we needed to warn him of something or if he needed to call us, we can do so easily."

Gingka sighed. "As much as I don't like the idea of running, I can't argue with that idea. At least I'll be doing something, and it'll be nice to see that group again."

"We'll put you on the first flight out there that we can and I'll call Da Xiang ahead of time to let him know you're coming." Tsubasa said.

Gingka nodded. "I'll get ready then. Madoka, care to come with me?"

Madoka nodded nervously, sidling up to the redhead and grasping his hand for reassurance.

"Meanwhile, Zero and Maru will go to Africa to find Dynamis. I'll give you two a map from when we had gone there in the past so that you know what to look out for." Tsubasa looked at the two, who nodded.

"Call Nile. He should be able to escort them as well." Ryo said. "And Kenta should also be there. That's where he was investigating."

Tsubasa nodded. "I will. You be careful. If this Himitsu really does know whoever is behind this, then it's possible that that person knows of her calls to us. They may use us to try to get to Gingka."

Ryo nodded. "I'll be fine, don't worry. We all have our own things to worry about. I have a lot more calls to place if we're going to respond as quickly as we may need to."

Tsubasa nodded. "Good luck. I'll get everyone over here moved to where they need to go."

Ryo nodded and simply hung up.

"This keeps getting more and more complicated." Gingka sighed, rubbing his head as if he had a headache, which he likely did after all that was going on.

"We'll handle it like we did last time." Tsubasa said. "Now we'd all best get moving. I'll meet you all at the airport in a few hours."

"Call us when you're on your way." Madoka said as she followed Gingka out.

"Here goes disaster again." Maru joked half-heartedly as she and Zero followed as well.

"I sure hope not." Zero sighed, "But it certainly looks that way."


	4. Akuhito

"Everything is in motion then?" A man with blue-grey eyes and grey hair barely tinted with a light brown turned away from the screen in front of him to glare at an approaching subordinate.

"Yes, Mr. Yoshi." The subordinate said.

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that?!" The man snapped, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Well it is your name, sir."

"I refuse to be called by the same name as a small green dinosaur from a game. Yoshi is not menacing. Call me Akuhito, or else!"

"Yes, Mr. Akuhito."

"Now, where were we? Ah yes, the plan. How much of it has been executed?" 'Akuhito' turned back to his screens to survey the data displayed there.

"We have a few locations where Hagane might be. Sadly, we lost track of the other threat after he flat out refused to work with us." 

"A pity. He will have to be shown what happens when you defy me and my plans." Akuhito narrowed his eyes.

"You almost ruined your plans nearly twenty-one years ago." The subordinate pointed out.

"Shut up! I know that. I did not know at the time that the key to my plans was right there, and things really did work out better the way that I did them. All according to plan, remember?"

"Of course, sir." The subordinate replied meekly.

"It has simply taken far too long for things to all work out, but our experiment is nearly complete. Too bad there are always goons who get in the way of my plans."

"And once you found out that Hagane was the key to all of this, you couldn't simply take out the very person who was foiling your plans time and time again."

"Doji has failed me twice. That mad scientist as well. Undoubtedly, Hagane and his friends have already realized the next bullet is heading their way. They will be on the move to stop it sooner than they did last time, and we cannot allow that to happen." Akuhito turned back to face his subordinate.

"Yet we now cannot guarantee that the one who escaped will not work with them and help them with that swifter end."

"It will not matter. Only one of the seasons needs to be missing for their only method of victory to fail."

"Of course."

"It still is a bother that 'he' would be on the loose though. A pity. I expected him to work with us. In the meantime, I expect you to find Hagane's location and snatch him away while his friends don't have their eye on him."

"I will certainly find a way of doing so. We have spies watching his every move already."

"Good. Now get moving on it all."

"Yes, Mr. Yoshi."

"What did I say about calling me Yoshi?!" Akuhito snapped, but the subordinate had already left to do as he had been ordered. Akuhito sighed and looked back to his screens calmly. "I have been waiting for years for a chance to get at him, and now, he is ready." He chuckled, a malicious smirk crossing his face.

Unknown to Akuhito, Himitsu had heard everything he said, as she had been eavesdropping just outside the door. She had intended on going in to speak with him, but hearing that he had spies following Gingka had spurred her to further action. She had to call Ryo again and warn him. Surely he would be in his office at this time still, right? She knew that calling him right now would be risky but she had to do it, so, she lifted her skirts and ran up to her room, practically diving under her bed for the phone that she had hidden there, the one that Akuhito had no clue she had.

Himitsu quickly dialed the number of the WBBA, anxiously waiting for someone to pick up.

"WBBA headquarters, this is Hikaru Hasama speaking, how may I help you?"

"Is Mr. Ryo Hagane there?" Himitsu asked. "This is Himitsu. I need to speak with him, urgently."

"The director is not in the office right now, he had something else to attend to. May I take a message for him?" Hikaru asked politely, being professional even though she knew the history of Himitsu's calls.

"Please tell him that I have found out that there are spies tracking his son. He needs to know this so that he can protect him." Himitsu said quickly, glancing fearfully towards her door and hoping that nobody was within earshot. "I just overheard the ones who are after him talking about it."

"I will tell him, Miss Himitsu." Hikaru promised, noting down the information and narrowing her eyes. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that is all. I must go now. Goodbye." Himitsu hung up as she heard footsteps approaching her door, quickly turning off the phone and shoving it underneath her bed again, moments before a knock came on the door.

"Who is it?" She called, swiftly sitting on the edge of the bed and picking up a book as if she had been reading.

It's me, daughter. Care to join me for lunch?" Akuhito's voice called through the door.

Himitsu got up and opened the door. "Of course. What are we having?" She asked, faking a smile even though she knew what he was up to.

"Well, I figured I would leave that up to you. Perhaps you would like to choose something today?"

She nodded. "I like that idea."

"That's my girl. Come along then."

Himitsu grabbed her shoes and followed Akuhito out the door. "I'm nearly forty, father. You don't need to keep treating me like I am a child."

Akuhito merely shrugged and kept walking, escorting her to the dining room with a couple of his subordinates walking behind the two. "Is age supposed to keep me from keeping my daughter safe?" He asked.

Himitsu wanted to slap him at that, but instead she forced herself to smile again. "I suppose not." She said meekly as she sat down, even though she would much rather keep spying on him and reading her book while relaying information to Ryo. But she knew that, if things outside her prison of a home kept working the way they had been, she would have her freedom soon enough. She only hoped that Gingka and his allies would be successful once again. If they were to finally fail to defeat her father's plans, then she would truly be out of luck and trapped far away from freedom and the man she loved and desperately wanted to see again.

In the meantime, Gingka and the others were meeting at the airport as planned.

"So who is this Dynamis person we're supposed to find?" Zero asked as he trotted alongside Gingka through the busy airport.

"Quite the odd person." Gingka chuckled. "He's a bit confusing to talk to, I should warn you."

"Why is that?" Maru asked.

"He says a whole ton of stuff about the 'will of the heavens' or something. I've never really understood it but I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows you're coming. He'll know for sure what's going on since he is a fellow Legendary Blader." Gingka chuckled. "Just watch out for the pitfalls that protect him from those who try to sneak in. You'll be going as honored guests so you won't have to worry about getting a cold reception, but there are still the traps around too."

"Hey, isn't that Sakyo and Takanosuke?" Maru said suddenly, pointing towards a familiar pair as they approached her and Zero's gate.

Gingka looked and blinked. "So it is. On your flight too, it looks like. I wonder why."

"I can't think of a reason for them to be going to Africa." Zero blinked. "Maybe it's to train?"

Gingka shrugged. "Interesting coincidence, unless it's not."

"Zero! Maru!" Takanosuke exclaimed as he spotted them, standing and waving them over. Sakyo looked surprised to see the group.

"What are you guys doing here?" Maru asked as they walked over.

"Sakyo suddenly said early this morning that he needed to go to Africa for some reason. He won't tell me why though, but I'm not staying behind while he goes to a whole other continent."

Gingka glanced to Sakyo with a raised eyebrow. "Africa, huh? Zero and Maru are going there on an assignment."

"Really? What sort of assignment?" Takanosuke asked, blinking curiously.

"We have to find someone, apparently, who is a weirdo." Zero said, scratching the back of his head.

Gingka laughed. "Hey, I said he was odd, not weird. Then again, he does seem weird when you're not used to him, but after spending nearly a year training in his area and staying with him, I'm used to it."

"If Zero and Maru are going to Africa, then why are you here?" Sakyo spoke up, staring calmly at Gingka with his arms crossed.

"I've gotta go talk to some old friends in China." Gingka chuckled. "So after this airport I won't be seeing you guys for a while, probably."

"Aww, you're leaving the city too?" Takanosuke said, almost pouting.

Gingka just chuckled and patted the boy's blonde curls. "Don't worry I won't be vanishing for good. I've still got bladers here to stay involved with, teaching."

"Flight 1134 to Cairo, Egypt now boarding. Will the first group of boarders please line up." A voice said over the intercom.

"That's us then." Zero said as Takanosuke and Sakyo stood and slung their carry-on bags over their shoulders, Sakyo immediately marching off to line up for boarding.

Gingka watched the four as they all stood together in line, Takanosuke chatting eagerly with Zero and Maru while Sakyo merely observed like some sort of aloof guardian.

"He is a lot like you, Ryuga." The redhead muttered as he turned away. "Although quite a bit friendlier, and I wouldn't even call him that friendly."

"I've never been to another country before." Takanosuke said, looking at the plane they were about to board.

"Me either. It'll be so much fun seeing another culture!" Maru exclaimed.

"You brought a camera, right?" Takanosuke asked.

"Duh! I mean, even though we're going to find someone important, surely there will be time to take pictures on the way there, right?"

"I wanna see a lion." Takanosuke said. "Like, a wild one. Not too close up though, that'd be dangerous."

"Sometimes danger brings out the strongest in us." Sakyo said.

The other three looked at the dragon blader quizzically as their boarding group was called and they were all ushered onto the plane, managing to find seats together so they could continue talking on their way to Cairo.


	5. Motion

"This is where we part ways, I suppose." Maru said as the group stepped off their flight and into a rather busy Cairo airport.

"How are we supposed to find that Nile guy in all this mess?" Zero asked, stretching himself up to the tips of his toes in an attempt to look over the heads of the crowd, despite not actually knowing what Nile looked like.

"Maybe he'll have a giant bottle of water with him?" Maru suggested.

"Very funny." Zero facepalmed and began walking through the crowd towards where he assumed the baggage claim must be.

"You're supposed to meet with someone named Nile?" Takanosuke said.

"The director said that he would help us get to where we're going, so yeah." Zero sighed. "I just hope that we can find him. Or that he finds us."

"Oh. Well good luck!" Takanosuke said, grinning.

"We should be walking together the whole way to the baggage claim." Sakyo pointed out. "Stop acting like we're splitting up until we actually are."

"Okay, Mr Grumpy." Maru huffed. Sakyo just shot a glare at her for a moment before continuing on and taking the lead.

"Zero Kurogane and Maru, I assume?" A voice said from just to their right as they arrived at the baggage claim. The group turned to see not just one person, but three people waiting for them.

"Are you Nile?" Zero asked. "Or... One of you?"

The one standing closest to them nodded. "Nice to meet you. We'd best get going if we're going to reach the mountain before nightfall. He said, brushing a few strands of orange hair out of his face.

"Got it. We just need to get our bags." Zero said, turning to look for them.

"Who are you two then?" Maru asked, tilting her head curiously at Nile's companions.

"I'm Demure. I came to help guide you all through the safest path." one, standing just behind and to the left of Nile, spoke up, stepping forward and extending a darkened hand to the small girl.

"Nice to meet you!" Maru exclaimed. I'm Maru."

"Madoka's apprentice, eh?" The other spoke up, eyes flashing as he gave her a toothed smirk.

Maru looked up and nodded. "Yep!" She said cheerily.

"I can tell. You have a similar personality." Nile chuckled as Zero returned.

"What's your name then?" Maru asked, tilting her head up.

Zero's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he spotted the faint green glow coming from the bey case of the third blader. "You're… Kyoya!" He guessed.

Maru blinked and looked up at the man with the unruly green hair. "Kyoya? As in Gingka's rival?"

"Heh. Best not go comparing me to him kid." Kyoya said.

"With how heated their battles get, I'd almost dare say they're a bit more than rivals." Demure laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"That's so cool!" Zero exclaimed. "It's awesome to meet you too!"

Kyoya merely smirked again. "You gonna keep chattering or are we going to get moving?" He asked, beginning to turn away.

"Right. Sorry." Zero said, swiftly scooping up his duffel and Maru's backpack and trotting off after Kyoya as the older blader led the way towards the exit, Maru following with Nile and Demure bringing up the rear of their little party.

"See you guys later sometime!" Takanosuke called, waving after them as they departed.

"Let's get going, if you really still insist on coming with me." Sakyo said calmly as he pulled his own bag off the claim and carelessly tossed Takanosuke's backpack to him.

"Oh, of course! Sorry Sakyo." Takanosuke quickly slipped the straps of his backpack over his shoulders and set off behind the dragon blader. "Why are we here anyway? You still haven't told me."

"You'll know when we get there." Sakyo said, pulling a piece of paper out of the inside of his coat pocket and examining it closely before shoving it back in and heading off to the exit.

"Is it that big of a secret?" Takanosuke asked, pouting slightly. Sakyo made no answer, disappearing into the streets almost the instant he was out the doors of the airport and heading straight for the edge of the city as fast as his legs could carry him.

"So, what's the plan?" Zero asked as they all settled down into a Jeep, Nile taking the driver's seat.

"We head to the mountain first. We should reach there just before nightfall, and we'll either camp at the base of the mountain or begin our ascent to the peak." Nile said as he began driving off.

"So this guy lives at the top of a mountain?" Maru said, tilting her head and adjusting her hat as they took off.

"Not just that. The entire mountain is covered by a labyrinth of ancient ruins from some long-gone civilization." Demure explained.

"Whoa. That's so cool! Wait, all by himself?"

"Sometimes." Kyoya grunted. "Before we met him he did, or so I assume. Now he has one of the others with him on and off."

Zero blinked. "'Others'?"

"If you ask Kyoya, the most annoying one." Demure laughed.

Kyoya glared at his old teammate, crossing his arms. "You try being called 'Yo-Yo' all the time and see if it doesn't annoy you." He snapped.

"That's why it's so funny." Demure only laughed harder. Kyoya rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored the other.

"Wait, someone calls him 'Yo-yo'?" Zero began laughing as well. "That's hilarious!"

"Two people actually, and the Legendary Blader only calls him that because that's how they were introduced." Nile chuckled.

"If we're going to climb the mountain tonight we should get some sleep now." Kyoya grunted. "Unless you two slept the entire flight here."

"We didn't… We were busy chatting with some friends." Maru admitted.

"Best get some sleep then." Demure said. "Here, I've got some sleeping bags you can use. Just curl up in the back. It'll be a bit bumpy but it's manageable."

"Alright, thanks." Zero yawned suddenly, the mention of sleep causing him to realize that it had indeed been probably more than a day since he actually last slept.

Demure helped the two get situated as comfortably as was possible before leaning into the corner himself and staring out across the open lands surrounding them.

"You think we'll do it this time too?" Nile asked after several moments, voicing the question on the mind of all three.

"There's no doubt that we'll get moving faster, but the real question is whether or not it will be enough." Demure sighed.

"I don't see a reason to worry." Kyoya huffed, sounding rather annoyed. "We beat that guy last time and we've all been getting stronger while he's been sitting in the dirt doing nothing."

Nile and Demure exchanged an amused glance at this.

"Yeah, you have a point." Nile said after a few moments of silence. "We've got nothing to worry about."

Kyoya smirked. "But this time it's going to be me to beat him, not Gingka."

Demure shook his head. "You and he never change do you?"

Kyoya scoffed at this. "Why should we? I still owe him for last time."

"And the time before that, and the time before that, and… Oh! The time before that too." Nile rolled his eyes.

Kyoya snarled at his friend. "Don't remind me!"

"Ahh, good old China!" Gingka exclaimed, inhaling deeply as he stepped out of the airport.

"There you are! Flight delayed a bit?" A familiar voice said from Gingka's left.

The redhead turned, chuckling. "Da Xiang! Long time no see." He said, shaking the hand of the leader of Beylin Temple.

Da Xiang grinned. "Good to see you again. Too bad it had to be at such a dire time."

"Did my dad fill you in on the additional information?" Gingka asked as the two began walking towards the hills.

"What that mysterious woman caller said about you?" Da Xiang asked, nodding. "He did. Aguma notified us of the other thing as soon as his bey began glowing as well."

Gingka nodded, a serious look falling across his face. "Yeah. The threat of being kidnapped is basically nothing compared to 'that.'"

"It took a long time for everyone to recover after that." Da Xiang nodded. "Plus I hear you've been kidnapped twice."

Gingka looked annoyed. "Don't remind me. I don't plan on letting it happen again anyway."

Da Xiang chuckled. "Well Beylin is a pretty secure place and as long as one of us is with you, we'll help you stay out of that sort of trouble."

Gingka smiled at this. "I appreciate it."

"Now come, the others are waiting." Da Xiang chuckled as they began the steep climb to the temple barely visible through the fog in the distance.

"Wait a minute, my phone is ringing." Gingka said suddenly, pulling the device out of his pocket, blinking at the caller ID, and answering. "Dad? What's up?" He asked as he continued to follow Da Xiang upwards toward the temple in the distance.

"Oh good, you've landed." Ryo sighed. "Look, keeping you out of these guys' grasp may be harder than I thought. I got another call from that Himitsu woman."

Gingka frowned. "What did she say?"

"That they have someone actively trailing you." Ryo sighed. "Best keep a lookout and try to lose them if you can figure out who it is."

Gingka narrowed his eyes at this and glanced backwards, but saw nobody. "Alright, good to know." He said before turning and continuing on. "Are you alright?"

Ryo sighed. "I'm worried for you, Gingka. I know you still have nightmares from the last incident and for this one to be as much more of a threat as it is, knowing someone's trailing you and all that…"

Gingka smiled sympathetically. "I'll be fine, Dad. Promise."

"Yeah you always have been but I can still be the protective father, can't I?"

Gingka chuckled at this. "Yeah, I suppose so. Even if my skills are stronger than yours."

"Hey, it's been years since we battled, are you sure that's still true?" Ryo protested in a mock whining tone.

Gingka laughed. "Pretty sure, dad. It's been years since you beat me."

"You wanna see if I've changed that when you get back?" Ryo huffed. "This old phoenix has got a few tricks up his sleeve yet."

Gingka chuckled. "And I've still got a few new ones myself. I won't be forgetting that challenge."

Ryo smiled at this, leaning back in his chair. "Neither will I. Be careful, son."

"But reckless is my middle name, you've said it yourself." Gingka teased.

Ryo rolled his eyes. "I swear all my grey hairs are your fault."

"You sure your little stunt years ago of galavanting around in that mask and coat didn't cause at least half of them?" Gingka chuckled.

"I'm quite sure, thank you very much." Ryo huffed, leaning forwards to rest his elbows on his desk. "But seriously… Be careful. I don't want to risk losing you a third time."

"You won't. I promise." Gingka said. "I'm keeping an extra careful eye out for covered pits."

Ryo smiled. "I'm counting on you to keep my hair color."

Gingka rolled his eyes. "I get the point, Dad."

"Good." Ryo sighed. "Even after all you've done, I sometimes still forget that you're not little anymore."

Gingka smiled. "But I'm still your boy."

Ryo chuckled softly. "Always. I should get back to work. I trust you to keep yourself safe, with the help of your friends."

"I'll be fine Dad, I promise." Gingka adjusted the position of his bag on his shoulder. "We're about to start climbing so I'll let you go."

"Okay. Good luck, Gingka."

"You too, Dad."


	6. Climb

"We're finally here." Nile announced as he parked their Jeep at the base of the mountain.

"Wow. It looks so… Eerie." Maru commented.

"Well the point of the whole labyrinth covering it is to keep outsiders out." Kyoya huffed.

"And to discourage people from even trying." Demure confirmed. "But we are friends of the Guardian, and we will be welcomed at the summit."

"We'd best get started." Kyoya said. "I don't want to wait around at the base here."

"We do still have daylight and all of us are pretty well rested." Nile nodded.

"Yeah I need to get some of this stiffness out of my legs." Zero said, stretching as he climbed off the Jeep and tossed his bag over his shoulder.

"Let's get moving then." Nile said, pulling out his map and looking at it. "Our best entrance should be… This way."

"It's so.. Misty." Maru said.

"Well it is called Mist Mountain for a reason." Kyoya scoffed.

"Up we go." Nile said, slipping between two stone walls and into the labyrinth. "Everyone stay close and make sure you can see the person or two in front of you at all times."

"Got it." Maru said, sidling up to Zero and following right at his side, gripping the straps of her small backpack and putting on a brave face. She had to admit that the extreme lack of visibility and the mist giving everything an eerie shape was making her nervous.

"Just step carefully." Nile said. "And don't touch the walls. Gingka found himself falling down a trap when he did that once."

"After saving Madoka from falling down it." Demure chuckled.

"They sure have known each other for a long time, haven't they?" Zero blinked.

Nile and Demure looked to Kyoya, who nodded. "Nearly ten years by now. We all met around the same time." He grunted.

"Wow. Took them long enough to get engaged huh?" Maru blinked.

Nile paused at this, he and the other two looking at the small girl in surprise.

"Hagane finally manned up to ask her then?" Kyoya huffed, a smirk crossing his face. "About time that idiot told her something."

Zero nodded. "It's been a few months now. They didn't tell you?"

"We don't exactly keep regular contact with them." Demure admitted. "We're always pretty busy ourselves."

"Good point." Zero said.

"We're making a left at the next place we can." Nile announced as he turned back to his map and the route they needed

"Halt, outsiders, or face the wrath of gods." A voice suddenly boomed out of the mist, echoing from just ahead of them.

"Who's there?" Kyoya snarled, half-reaching for his launcher.

"Is that Dynamis?" Maru asked.

"No, that's not his voice at all. I don't know who that is." Nile said, narrowing his eyes. "Demure, do you see anything?"

Demure shook his head. "There's too much mist."

"I'll take care of that." Kyoya growled, pulling out his launcher and bey. "Even just one tornado will blow all of this away."

"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Maru sweatdropped.

"Launch and face my wrath, stranger." The voice boomed again, still echoing.

"Hang on, let's not blow things to pieces too quickly." Demure put an arm in front of Kyoya, who glared at him. "We are friends of the Guardian of this mountain. Whoever you are, we are no threat unless you're against Dynamis."

"I am not against him. How can I know that you are truly friends of his?" The voice asked, the mist shifting slightly to reveal a silhouetted figure standing atop a ruined wall, a faint gold glow visible around his hand.

Kyoya looked annoyed and put his launcher and bey away. "Tithi, enough games." He snapped.

"You're no fun." the figure jumped down from the wall and approached them, removing the mayan-inspired mask he was wearing and grinning as he reached them. "Hey look Yo-yo, I'm nearly as tall as you."

"Shut up before I send you into the wall, squirt." Kyoya growled.

Tithi just laughed, purple-blue eyes twinkling in amusement as he turned to Nile and Demure. "Long time no see!" He exclaimed. "You guys live here and I've even seen Gingkie more recently than I've seen you."

"We've been busy." Nile chuckled, folding up his map. "I didn't think you were still sticking around here."

"Well Dynamis needs someone to keep him company." Tithi shrugged. "He doesn't mind me around and these ruins are fun and sorta like home. Who are those two?" He glanced at Zero and Maru.

"Zero Kurogane." Zero extended a hand, not entirely sure who this young man was, but seeing that he was a friend of Gingka's. "And this is Maru."

"Tithi." Tithi shook Zero's hand and grinned. "The Venus blader."

"The what now?" Maru looked confused.

"One of the other Legendary bladers. The most annoying, if you ask me." Kyoya grunted.

"Awwwww, Yo-yo, you know you care about me." Tithi grinned, somersaulting over Kyoya's head and ruffling the older's hair as he did so. "What brings you all here?"

Kyoya glared fiercely with a stare that would have frightened away a lion, but Tithi pretended to not notice him.

"We need to find Dynamis and talk to him. Judging by the fact that your bey is glowing, you probably already know why." Nile said.

"Yeah he told me you guys would be showing up and sent me down to meet you and walk you up." Tithi shrugged, tucking his mark under his arm. "So, shall we get going? I need to make sure that he's not burning the food I was cooking. He said he'd watch it, but his specialty is star-watching, not cooking."

Nile snorted. "I believe that. Lead the way then."

Tithi grinned. "If you can all keep up." He put his mask on and leapt up atop a crumbling wall, running along it and disappearing into the mist.

"Hey, wait up a second there!" Nile yelped as the entire group bolted into a run after the trickster leading them.

"Gotta keep up!" Tithi's voice teased from the mist ahead of them.

"That little…" Kyoya trailed off into a series of muttered threats and insults as he followed right behind Nile.

Soon enough, the group again caught up with Tithi, who was sitting on top of a pillar swinging his legs and waiting for them.

"You gotta move slower in this mist, pipsqueak." Kyoya growled.

"Aww, is the mighty lion having a hard time keeping up?" Tithi teased, sticking his tongue out at Kyoya.

"Is that normal for them to do?" Zero whispered to Nile, who chuckled and nodded.

"I think they have a game going on who can insult the other the most." Maru piped up.

"Just shut up and keep leading the way or I'll throw you into the first hole I can find."

"Joke's on you, I know my way out of every trap on this mountain now." Tithi stuck his tongue out again before jumping down from the pillar and walking off again. "Anyone wanna take an inside route?"

"What do you mean by 'inside route'?" Nile asked suspiciously.

"Jumping down a trap hole and walking through the underbelly of the maze of course. Much warmer and less misty, although it is dark." Tithi said, examining a stone wall that was in better shape than the others before pushing in on a brick and causing a trapdoor to open up.

"That looks similar to what Gingka fell down." Nile said. "You're sure it's safe?"

"After how many times I fell into it trying to learn the way around this place, yes." Tithi grinned before jumping in with an enthusiastic whooping sound.

"Guess we have no choice." Nile sighed, following.

"... I for one don't like this idea." Maru said, gulping at the thought of jumping into a dark hole that was who-knows how deep, even if two people had just done so without hesitation.

"Well, we can go down together, and they clearly think it's safe." Zero pointed out. "If we don't go down we'll have to wait here."

"I know but I still don't like it." Maru pouted.

"I'll come down behind you." Demure offered as Kyoya jumped down. "That way you're not the last ones."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Zero said, putting his hands on Maru's shoulders and bravely steering her towards the hole.

"Just sit down at the edge and slide yourself in." Nile's voice called up. "There's actually a sort of slide, you won't be falling straight down."

"See? We'll be fine." Zero said, both to reassure Maru and to convince himself as he sat down on the edge of the hole as Nile had instructed and dangled his legs into the darkness below, gulping slightly. Maru sat down next to him and took a deep breath, grabbing his hand.

"In we go then." Zero scooted himself forwards at the same time as Maru and they slid down at the same time. The two yelled out, partially from fear, partially from a strange sensation of fun and adventure, before they found themselves landing in a heap at the bottom of the chute.

"I'm coming down." Demure called as Zero and Maru scrambled away from the end of the chute to make room. The two looked around, walking towards the combination of green and gold light that indicated where Kyoya and Tithi were standing.

"Well, we do have some light." Nile said, using the light from Tithi's bey to root around in his backpack for a flashlight.

"That looks pretty cool actually." Zero commented. "Still weird that they glow like that. Is anyone going to ever explain to me why they're glowing?" 

"... Later." Tithi and Kyoya replied at once.

"Okay that's creepier than every single way this place looks combined, hearing you two say the same thing and agree on it." Nile joked as he found his flashlight and turned it on, shining it around to see what sort of place they were now in.

"This is huge. Just how far did we fall?" Kyoya asked, noting that the ceiling was barely able to be seen.

"We are pretty far underground." Tithi shrugged. "It's fun down here though."

"At least we'll be able to see you by your bey's glow if you get too far ahead." Demure said, dusting himself off as he joined them.

Tithi giggled mischievously. "It's also warmer down here anyway. Let's get going before Dynamis burns dinner."

"Food does sound pretty good about now." Zero said as his stomach loudly announced its agreement, causing him to turn beet red.

Tithi just laughed at this, turning and motioning to the others to follow as he pulled out Quetzalcoatl and held it high to give himself more light to walk by as the group continued off into the labyrinth that would eventually lead them to Dynamis.


	7. Division

"Dynamis! I knew you'd burn the food if I left you alone with it!" Tithi exclaimed as he and the others walked into a side room of the temple to find Dynamis staring out the window, oblivious to the smoke billowing from the pot behind him, which Tithi was hastily taking off the fire.

"Oh. I was busy." Dynamis said, turning and casting his gaze over the group before reaching his hand into his robes and pulling out his bey, which was, as the others had expected, glowing. "Although I suppose 'this' takes precedence over anything else right now."

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Kyoya grunted, pulling out his own bey to look at it.

Dynamis shook his head. "This was not spoken of in the skies."

"That's a first." Tithi grumbled, trying to salvage the food he had been cooking.

"Precisely." Dynamis said. "Something else influenced it."

"That's why you can't trust twinkling dots in the sky." Kyoya grunted. "If you ask me they don't have anything to do with all of this."

"The black sun was in the sky." Dynamis reminded.

"That was once. Is it here now? I don't think so." Kyoya huffed. "But that's beside the point. We need to gather more information and all get together. Gingka went to China to speak with Aguma, and these two," he gestured at Maru and Zero, "Were sent here to find you and apparently the pipsqueak as well."

"Stop calling me that, Yo-Yo!" Tithi called from outside.

Kyoya merely smirked for an instant before continuing. "We should likely head to the site as a group and see what's going on."

"Is it of any interest to anyone that I saw a group of people camping out on another part of the mountain while I was coming down to find you guys?" Tithi asked, coming back in with a tray of what food he had been able to salvage from the burning pot.

Dynamis turned to him, one eyebrow raised. "A second group on the mountain?"

"That could be a problem, or could just be another group of sightseers who are probably going to end up getting lost in the maze." Kyoya sighed.

"You can probably see them from the top of the wall around the main courtyard." Tithi shrugged. "Or the light of their fire, at least. It is dark now, after all."

"Whatever it is is worth investigating." Dynamis said as Tithi handed out food to everyone. "My primary job is to guard this temple, after all."

"I think going to stop the recurring threat is a bit more important than guarding the temple, since guarding the temple is kind of included in saving the world… Again." Kyoya huffed.

"He's got a point." Tithi shrugged as he plopped down crosslegged on the ground to eat his food. "I can go check it out with a couple of others after we eat."

"Which direction was it?" Dynamis asked.

"Somewhere around the southeastern side. Not too far from where this group entered, really." Tithi said, gesturing in the direction he was referring to.

"They likely came from a similar direction then." Dynamis said. "We should definitely investigate."

"If they're just tourists I won't bother with anything." Tithi shrugged. "Anyone else want to come with me?"

"I will." Demure said. "I'll be able to see them before we get close so we can see whether or not it's worth bothering them."

Dynamis nodded. "Be careful."

"Always!" Tithi said gleefully as he put his mask back on and darted out the door, followed closely by Demure.

"I wonder who it could be." Maru said.

"I wonder if it's Sakyo and Takanosuke." Zero shrugged.

"But why would those two be here?" Maru blinked. "They were coming here for some other reason, I'm sure. Wouldn't Sakyo have said so if he were coming here for the same reason?"

Zero shrugged again. "He is Sakyo. Pretty mysterious guy. He didn't even tell Takanosuke why he was coming, remember?"

"Takanosuke did sorta just follow him for the sake of sticking together." Maru scratched her cheek. "But it would be interesting if they were coming here too."

"I guess we'll find out when Tithi and Demure get back." Nile said, leaning against a wall and yawning.

"If you need extra blankets, let me know." Dynamis said. "Tithi has helped me gather such resources. I will be in the main courtyard."

"Thanks." Nile nodded, sitting down and putting his hands behind his head.

"This is an interesting place." Maru commented, looking around at the stone walls surrounding them, surprised at how good of a condition they were in compared to the other structures she had seen on their way up.

"Very." Zero nodded, stretching his legs out with a contented sigh. "I think I'm going to get some sleep for now…"

"We all should." Nile muttered wearily, his eyes already closed.

"Do you think Gingka's okay?" Zero wondered.

"If he's not okay, then he'll be even less okay when I find him afterwards." Kyoya grunted. Zero and Maru stared at the lion blader in surprise.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared." Maru teased.

"Shut it." Kyoya promptly snapped at her, crossing his arms and leaning against the opposite wall.

"I'm sure he's fine. He is Gingka, after all." Zero yawned.

"True, but that hasn't always helped him." Maru shrugged.

In the meantime, Gingka and Da Xiang were nearly to Beylin Temple.

"And then, the idiot had the audacity to try to challenge Aguma of all people in battle." Da Xiang said, continuing the story he was telling.

"Uh-huh." Gingka said, only half interested in the story the other had been telling for practically the entire hike. The other half of his attention was focused on the shadows around them, which were acting a bit more strangely than he would like them to. As Da Xiang continued to fill the silence, Gingka slipped away into a bush on the edge of the cliff, narrowing his eyes before lowering himself over the edge and climbing down into the fog below, attempting to do the thing any pursuer would last expect.

"Are you even listening? You're being awfully... Quiet…" Da Xiang said as he turned around a few minutes later only to find that he was completely alone on the path.

"Well… That's just great." He muttered, jogging back down the path and looking around for any trace of the redhead. Finding none, he sprinted back up the path towards Beylin Temple, a sense of urgency in his mind as he hoped that Gingka was just playing a prank on him, and that nothing had happened.

"There you are! It took you long enough to get back." Chao Xin said as Da Xiang entered the temple, slightly out of breath.

"... Where's Gingka?" Mei Mei asked slowly.

"He managed to completely disappear while we were minutes away from here." Da Xiang said. "I have no clue what happened but we need to call his father immediately and try calling him if we can."

"I'll try his phone." Aguma volunteered, coming out of a nearby shadow. "The rest of you be ready to call his father if I cannot reach him."

Mei Mei nodded and ran to find one of the Temple phones. Aguma pulled his own phone out of his pocket and tapped a few things before putting it to his ear and waiting. The others watched him, tension rising in the air.

"So where the heck are you?" Aguma asked at last, the others breathing a silent sigh of relief.

"Welp, funny story." Gingka said. "I could see the occasional suspicious shadow so I did my best to just slip away. I'll assume Da Xiang arrived there after noticing I was missing? That was pretty fast."

"He ran." Aguma said. "What is your plan?"

"I'm currently just keeping to the foggy parts of the canyon. I'll be trying to scale your cliff face by nightfall, probably."

"We'd better see you here soon. I don't want to have to call your father."

Gingka chuckled. "If I'm not within Beylin walls by midnight, assume something happened unless I tell you otherwise."

"Will do. Be careful or I'll beat you up myself."

"Got it." Gingka said before hanging up.

Aguma sighed and put his phone away, shaking his head. "He's fine." He reported to the group that was practically in his face with anticipation. "He said to assume something happened if he isn't inside here by midnight."

Da Xiang nodded. "Fair enough. All we can do is wait then, I suppose… Now what are you midgets slacking off for?!" This last comment was directed at a group of trainee bladers who had gathered to see what all the commotion was. The group yelped and scurried off to their training, which they were supposed to be doing.

Aguma looked at the sky with a heavy sigh. "Of all times, why did you have to reappear now." He muttered to himself before turning on his heel, looking straight ahead of him, and striding back inside.


	8. Disappearance

"Demure do you see anyone by that fire?" Tithi asked softly as he and Demure crouched on an outcropping of rock, a campfire blazing just a few ruins away.

"A couple of people but I don't recognize them." Demure said. "Or, can't see their faces to recognize them, more accurately."

"That's a new one with your eyesight."

"Well one of them is wearing a hood and the rest are too silhouetted by the fire for me to see them with their backs to us." Demure pointed out.

"I'll try to get closer." Tithi said, jumping over and around a few rock piles and sneaking his way towards the distant campfire, Demure following not far behind with much less acrobatic maneuvering than the other.

As the two approached, the single hooded figure standing and wandering off with one of the shorter two just before they got close, while the others remained by the fire. Demure peered at the two who were leaving as they vanished into the ruins, barely able to make out a shock of crimson that he found familiar but could not place. He chose not to spend too much time thinking about it, however, instead turning his attention back to the campfire and the three figures who remained seated around it, roasting a few things over the coals and talking in low voices.

"Hey wait, Kenta?!" Tithi suddenly exclaimed, blowing his and Demure's cover and clambering out of the ruins into the circle of light created by the campfire.

Demure blinked and followed Tithi as one of the figured by the campfire stood, a surprised expression on the face that was indeed Kenta's.

"Tithi? I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering our location, but long time no see!" Kenta greeted with a warm smile as the other two people turned to look at them.

"Ryuto and Takanosuke?" Demure blinked in surprise. "What are you three doing here?"

"Long story." Kenta laughed awkwardly. "Parts of which I can't tell you without getting myself in trouble."

"Fancy meeting you here." Takanosuke said, no more surprised than Kenta to see the two, although he did not recognize Tithi.

"Takanosuke, this is Tithi, one of the other Legendary Bladers." Kenta introduced. "And I guess you've already met Demure."

"At the airport earlier." Demure nodded. "I'm surprised to see you here, Kenta. All of you, really."

"Well, duty called here so, here I am. Didn't take much of an excuse for me to get away from Gingka's father." Kenta shrugged.

"Excuse?" Demure blinked.

"Well… I told him I had business in Africa. I didn't tell him what, and I can't tell you either."

"Does it have anything to do with that cloaked guy who just left?" Tithi asked.

Kenta nodded. "It has pretty much everything to do with him."

"Who is he anyway?" Demure asked.

"Can't tell you." Kenta and Ryuto said simultaneously.

"They won't even tell me, but I think Sakyo knows. He went with him." Takanosuke said in a pouting tone. Demure guessed that Sakyo's hair must have been the flash of crimson he had seen a minute ago.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to trust you then." Tithi shrugged. "From one Legendary Blader to another."

"Yeah." Kenta smiled. "Don't worry about it. Tell Dynamis I said hi, if he's here and not too busy stargazing."

Tithi laughed. "He's always busy stargazing, you know him. We just came down here to investigate your fire and make sure it wasn't a threat."

"Nope, no threats here." Kenta chuckled. "Just us."

"Well, be safe then." Demure said. "We should head back and get some sleep."

Tithi nodded. "Goodnight, Kenta!"

"Goodnight." Kenta smiled and nodded, sitting back down as the two walked off and back towards the summit.

"They are gone then?" A gruff voice said from behind a nearby wall.

"Yeah, they're gone." Kenta confirmed. "I thought you went to get firewood."

"The pipsqueak made a little bit of a racket coming down so I decided to slip away for a bit." The cloaked figure came out of hiding and rejoined Kenta and the others next to the fire, with Sakyo right behind him.

"Still not willing to show yourself, huh?" Kenta shook his head in amusement. "I never knew you as one to be so shy."

"It is not the right time." The other replied, shooting a ferocious glare at the Saggitario blader, a glare which Kenta merely shrugged off.

"The point right now is just to warn Gingka and the others." Ryuto said. "Which we have done. Now we just need to lie low so that this Akuhito guy doesn't catch us."

"Who is this guy, anyway?" Sakyo asked, looking at their hooded comrade.

"Who he is I don't know and couldn't care less." the man replied in a gruff tone. "But anyone approaching me with the offer to help him revive Nemesis is someone I don't want anything to do with."

"So you called everyone and began warning them." Kenta said. "That's why you wanted me to give you access to the WBBA's lines, so you could talk to Ryo and use their encryption to call Madoka and a few others."

"Wait did you say reviving Nemesis?!" Takanosuke squeaked, becoming a lot paler than he usually was.

"Judging by this, he's already succeeding." Kenta said, holding up his glowing bey.

"What does that mean?" Takanosuke asked.

"The beys of the legendary bladers have a fragment of a star in them." Kenta explained. "Almost eight years ago, when Nemesis first reawoke, they got these fragments. Nemesis got one too. When it first became active all those years ago, every Legendary bey glowed like this. The fact that they're glowing again means it's awake again."

"So why not just go stop it at the source?" Sakyo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Last time *someone* tried that, they almost died." Kenta replied, looking rather pointedly at the hooded man sitting next to him, who ignored the comment.

"Trying different methods this time than last time is the wiser choice." he said calmly.

"And in this case hiding out and waiting for the right time is the different method." Ryuto said.

The others nodded in understanding.

"It's nearly one in the morning. He's late." Da Xiang stated as he stepped into the courtyard, which was now empty save for himself, Aguma, Bao, and Chi Yun.

"Then I suppose it's time we call his father." Aguma sighed. "Even if it is an unlikely time for him to be awake."

"If he's worrying over Gingka's safety he will be." Da Xiang said, pulling out his phone and beginning to dial Ryo. "Perhaps we should also call Gingka, just to be safe."

"I'll do that but he did say he'd call us if he was going to be late." Bao said, as Da Xiang put his phone on speaker and held it so that everyone could hear.

"Da Xiang. Isn't it a bit of a late time for you to just now be arriving?" Ryo's tired voice came through the speakers a few minutes later.

"I'm both surprised and not surprised that you're still up." Da Xiang said. "We may have some bad news."

"... If it's what I think you're going to say then we need to move. Quickly." Ryo said.

"If you're thinking I'm going to tell you that Gingka's missing, then yes." Aguma said. "He thought he spotted some sort of shadowy figure tailing us as we climbed the mountain, so he slipped into the canyons below. He told us that if he wasn't within Beylin walls by midnight, to assume something happened to him. We've already waited an hour past that time and there's absolutely no sign of him."

"H-how could they have found him so easily…" A frightened and quiet woman's voice cut in suddenly.

"Who's that?" Aguma asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The woman who first told me that someone was after him, Himitsu." Ryo said. "Do you guys have anyone searching those canyons between Beylin Temple and where Gingka climbed down?"

"Not yet but we'll get right on it." Da Xiang said. "We've had people keeping watch all night on the walls for him but no reports yet. It's possible he is simply still climbing but with how well he does know these canyons I'd be surprised if he mis-estimated his timing."

"Himitsu, do you know where they would take him if they have captured him?" Ryo asked.

"I-I'm not sure… It's possible he would be brought here where I also am but I don't think that's likely. If it's not here then I don't know where they would take him. My father is a very powerful man…" Himitsu stammered.

"Wait. Your.. Father?" Ryo narrowed his eyes.

"I-I did not mean to say that…" Himitsu whispered, glancing behind herself. "But yes… The man who is after your son is my father. I hold no loyalty to him, however."

"He seems rather controlling." Ryo frowned, suspicion entering his mind. "I trust you to keep us posted if you find out anything about my son's disappearance."

"O-of course. I should go now. A patrol will come soon and I can't be caught." Himitsu said before a dial tone indicated she had hung up.

"She is an interesting woman." Da Xiang commented.

"If we catch whoever's behind all of this I plan on finding out who exactly she is." Ryo said. "But right now her identity doesn't matter. What matters is finding Gingka, and fast."

"Agreed." The others replied.

"He isn't answering his phone so I think we really can fully conclude that he's missing." Bao reported.

"I'll release a report to the WBBA agents so we can try to locate him." Ryo said.

"We'll search this area high and low until we find any sort of a clue." Da Xiang promised. "With the full forces of Beylin Temple, it shouldn't take long for us to find something."

"Please do all you can." Ryo sighed. "I'll get this alert out and then I should try to get some sleep, if I even can."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hagane." Aguma said. "We will find him."

"I seriously hope so." Ryo sighed. "Because this situation is worse than the last, and after seeing how he came out of the last one…"

"We understand." Chi Yun stated calmly. "Chi Yun and the others will do their best to find Gingka. We will find him before anything can be done to harm him."

"Good luck with your searches. I'll be waiting for any news you turn up with." Ryo sighed heavily as he hung up, staring at the phone for a moment before setting it down and turning to leave. His greatest fear of the time had come true. Now he only hoped and prayed that his greatest hope would also come true.


	9. Revelation

Madoka found herself growing more and more anxious with every passing moment. Ryo had called that morning and told her that Gingka had gone missing, which obviously meant that their worst fears had become reality. She was hoping that her redheaded fiance would be found soon, but with what they were likely up against, she was doubtful that was possible. Those few facts were the reason she herself was now on a plane to meet up with the bladers at Beylin Temple herself, to see if she could at least help them look for clues on where Gingka was, rather than sitting at home doing nothing but the usual, a task that had proven to be impossible a long time ago. She wondered for a moment if the bladers she usually loved to help with their beys would be angry over her unexpected departure, but decided not to worry about it for the time being. At the moment, finding Gingka was much more important, for one, because she had to know he was safe, and for another, because the implications of him being kidnapped possibly meant the end of the world.

Madoka sighed heavily as her plane finally landed. Thankfully, it did not take her long to get off the plane and find Chi Yun and Chao Xin waiting for her.

"Long time no see, Madoka. I only wish it were under better circumstances. Congratulations on your engagement, by the way." Chao Xin greeted, taking Madoka's luggage for her.

"Thanks, Chao Xin. I wish so too." Madoka sighed. "But, we'll find him, right?"

"Right." Chi Yun said. 'It's Gingka, after all. He can't be that hard to find."

"I sure hope you're right." Madoka sighed.

"Well, in the meantime, I should warn you that Mei Mei has been very excited to see you. You'll be staying in a room right next to hers, so let her know if you need anything." Chao Xin said.

Madoka smiled. "Alright. I do look forward to seeing everyone. It'll be nice after so long. But, as you said, I'd rather it be under different circumstances."

"Well, let's get moving." Da Xiang said. "We can chat more once we finish the long walk ahead of us."

Madoka nodded. "Agreed."

"So it was, not only Sakyo and Takanosuke, but also Kenta, Ryuto, and some other guy in a cloak that for some reason they wouldn't tell you the identity of?" Zero blinked in surprise at Demure's report.

"That it was." Demure said. "It is strange to me that Kenta would tell us nothing, Legendary Blader that he is."

"Keeping secrets like that isn't like him." Kyoya said, narrowing his eyes. "I have half a mind to go down there and threaten the truth out of him."

"We'll have to trust our ally." Dynamis said. "I have a couple of things that I should tell you about. I just heard some news from our friends elsewhere."

"... Is this good news or bad news?" Maru asked, nervous at the extra-serious look on the Jupiter blader's face.

"The news from our friends is unfortunately bad. The news I saw in the stars last night, I'm not sure what to make of it." Dynamis said.

"Did something happen to Gingka?" Zero asked.

"He went missing somewhere along the path to Beylin Temple." Dynamis sighed. "His father said that the last thing anyone heard from him indicated that he knew he was being followed and was trying to lose them in the fog of the canyons surrounding the temple. But he never reached his destination."

"That idiot." Kyoya grunted. "How can he keep getting captured so easily?"

"He has been caught three times recently…" Zero sighed.

"What's the other news?" Nile asked.

"It is what caused me to burn the food last night, I was so surprised to see what I did." Dynamis said cryptically. "I wonder if it had anything to do with the mysterious cloaked man that Tithi and Demure saw."

"What do you mean by that?" Tithi blinked.

Dynamis looked around at everyone, particularly Tithi and Kyoya. "Draco was shining."

"... Yeah, constellations do that." Kyoya snorted.

Dynamis shook his head. "Draco has been quite faint since the Nemesis Crisis. I believe this was because the blader most closely associated with that constellation was killed, supposedly."

"... Are you saying that Draco shining means that 'he' may be alive?" Nile asked, looking shocked and slightly frightened.

"Who?" Zero blinked.

"Ryuga." Dynamis and Kyoya said in sync, Nile nodding.

"Who's Ryuga?" Maru asked, not particularly encouraged by the looks on the faces of the adults.

"Kyoya may publicly be Gingka's main rival, but the rivalry between Gingka and Ryuga goes much further back than the one between Gingka and Kyoya." Nile said.

"The difference between me and Ryuga is that Ryuga HAS beaten Gingka. More than once." Kyoya said. "But he rushed in by himself to fight Nemesis before the rest of us could get there. We all saw him disappear. He couldn't possibly be alive with the injuries he had."

"We don't know what caused him to disappear." Dynamis said. "We only assumed he was dead. Now that I have seen the Dragon shining in the skies so brightly again, I doubt whether it is true."

"Who else was it that you said you saw at that campsite?" Kyoya asked Tithi and Demure.

"Sakyo was one of the ones to walk off. Other than him, it was Kenta and Ryuto, along with Takanosuke." Demure replied.

"We know that Takanosuke was there because Sakyo was." Kyoya said.

"What are you getting at, Kyoya?" Nile asked.

"Think about it." Kyoya said. "Ryuga didn't really have any friends. But some people say that Sakyo is his protege, his heir, similar to what Zero is to Gingka from what I've heard."

"Zero did get his bey from Gingka." Maru piped up.

"And Sakyo sorta hinted once that he got his from another Legendary Blader." Zero said.

"No matter who you are, if you come back from supposedly being dead, who do you call?" Kyoya asked. "Your closest allies. Kenta followed Ryuga for months before the Nemesis Crisis, while we were all out looking for the rest of the Legendary Bladers. Ryuga gave Kenta his Star Fragment when he disappeared. That's two people in that group who have some sort of close relation to Ryuga."

"And Ryuto is likely a blood relation of him." Dynamis said. "Bringing the total to three, and disregarding this Takanosuke, who was only following his friend."

Kyoya nodded. "I think that Dynamis's theory is likely correct. I also think that the cloaked figure we saw down there, who they wouldn't tell us about, is Ryuga."

"Why wouldn't they tell us if it was him though?" Tithi asked.

"Because who would believe that such a thing was possible? And would we be able to trust him after he refused to have anything to do with us last time?" Kyoya said.

Dynamis nodded. "Whatever the reason for his return, if it is him, it is likely associated with Nemesis' return."

"Hopefully that's not a bad thing." Zero said nervously.

"We can only wait and see." Dynamis sighed.

"For now, what should we do?" Maru asked.

"Gingka has been captured and our beys are still glowing, visibly, even though the sun has risen. I think we only have one option." Dynamis said.

"Go kick the butt of whoever dares mess with us." Kyoya smirked.

"We definitely can't just stay here and sit around." Nile agreed. "But where do we start?"

"I vote for going back to regroup with one of the other groups. Either to Metal Bey City or Beylin Temple." Demure said. "I think we could be the most help in those locations."

"I agree." Dynamis nodded. "We should leave immediately."

"Ahh, my beautiful daughter. Still looking much younger than your age. What brings you here?" Akuhito said, looking up from his desk in surprise at Himitsu entered the room.

"I-I know who your men took into custody recently." She said nervously. "I was wondering if I could… Just go see him."

Akuhito's welcoming smile immediately darkened into a scowl at this. "Why do you waste both of our time asking such a ridiculous question?"

"I-I just thought that maybe-" She began to say, but was cut off by her father slamming his laptop shut and standing angrily.

"You should not have expected my stance to change after twenty-some years. I told you then not to do what you did, and you did it behind my back anyway." He said coldly.

"I was an adult then and I am now." She said, trembling. "I want to see him."

"I suppose you still want to leave here too, hm? Neither is ever going to happen. You are my daughter, and I forbid you from doing anything so foolish as disobeying my orders."

"I am over forty, father. When will you trust me enough to let me make my own choices?!"

"I have had enough rebellion from you. Go back to your room!"

"Stop treating me like a child!"

Akuhito's eyes flashed as he towered over his daughter. "After all I do to keep you safe from everything, you defy me?!"

"I do not need you to keep me safe. All this house really ever has been is a prison!"

"Setsuna Oshiro, cease your arguing this instant and go. to. your. ROOM." Akuhito yelled.

'Himitsu,' or rather, Setsuna, flinched back at this and lowered her head, tears beginning to fall as she turned away and moved towards the door, pausing in the doorway to glance back at her father one more time.

"The longer you cage me, the less I want anything to do with that name." She said. "I will not respond to my maiden name again. I shed your surname twenty-three years ago for a reason." With that, she left, her head held high, and more determination than ever before to escape her prison.


	10. Trapped

**Ahhh feels good to update again. I am hoping to finally get back to a regular updating schedule now that I'm getting motivation back and things have settled down in my life. (I think the last time I was updating regularly was before November 2016...) SO, it's about time I kept things going again! I still have plans for this story and others, after all! Enjoy the chapter, and please do tell me what you think! ^w^**

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The last thing Gingka remembered was turning to face whoever had been following him. The next thing he knew, he was barely awake, very sore, and not able to move. He let out a low moan as he blinked his eyes slowly, golden-brown pupils struggling to focus through the dimness in… Well, wherever he was. He did not remember falling, so whatever trick had led to him being stuck once more, restrained to some solid object at his back, must have not been a covered pit for once. Judging by the strange feeling in his neck and limbs, he had possibly been knocked out by some sort of chemical.

Gingka took the deepest breaths he could, a band of pressure around his chest telling him that he was more securely restrained than he had been the previous two times. He rolled his eyes at this, mumbling incoherently to himself about things escalating every time. First just his wrists, then various joints, and now, from what his half-conscious mind could tell, his wrists, ankles, and torso were tied down. Whether he was standing or laying down, his senses would tell him in a minute, he thought wryly.

The redhead reached into the depths of his consciousness, attempting to determine approximately where Pegasus was in relation to him. Much to his surprise, the winged horse was immensely calm, a feeling he was rather glad for, since waking up to find that you had again been captured was not a pleasant feeling. Gingka breathed deeply, retreating into the bond between himself and Pegasus in order to calm himself down so that he could assess the situation. He could almost see the winged horse in his mind when he was rudely brought back to reality by the sound of a door opening and shutting.

"Ahh, you're awake." a voice that Gingka instantly hated, although he didn't know why, said.

The redhead opened his eyes, making eye contact with a pair of grey-blue eyes. A quick glance told him that this man was older than even Doji. Gingka figured that the white-haired man standing before him was old enough to be his grandfather.

"And you are…?" He nearly flinched at how horrible his voice sounded right now. Judging by the hoarse sounds that had escaped his throat, he had been unconscious for longer than he had originally figured.

"You need only know me as Akuhito. I have been trying to find you for a long time."

"What do you want?" Gingka coughed, trying to shift positions even slightly to relieve his soreness.

"Tell me, have you ever wondered why you are always the target?"

"Because typically I'm the strongest force fighting against you."

"On the surface, yes, that is a reason."

"You're saying that there's more reason than just that?" Gingka raised an eyebrow, intrigue breaking through his annoyance at being kidnapped yet again.

"I have been behind every villain you have fought over the last ten years. All to lead up to this moment. My last attempt failed, but this one will not."

"So basically you've failed five times now and you expect to win on the sixth try? I'd say it's about time to give it a break." Gingka shot back.

"There is a reason why I decided to personally snatch you this time. And I don't intend on anyone finding out your location, unlike the last two times, where my lackeys failed."

"It won't matter if you give away where we are or not. My friends will figure it out faster than you'll even realize. Your attempts to revive Nemesis will be futile."

"Oh but you are necessary to revive him, and you were the one who defeated him last time. I doubt your little friends will be able to pull off the same miracle."

"We'll see about that." Gingka scowled, disliking this man more and more the longer their conversation continued.

"Yes. Yes we will. I think it's about time you went back to sleep." Akuhito chuckled.

"How about no?" Gingka said defensively, trying to move his head away from the mask that a person in a white lab coat was moving towards his face. As he had figured, however, the attempt was futile since he could only move his head.

Akuhito chuckled under his breath as the defiant redhead slowly succumbed to the sedative flowing through the mask. "Defiant to the last. Just like his father. I will definitely enjoy this victory for more than one reason. I have been waiting for years for a chance to get at him, at this ability that gaining him will give me. Now it is all falling together perfectly."

"Sir, we have located the threat."

"Excellent. Take him out, if you can."

"He is no longer alone, sir. There are others with him, including one of the other Legendary Bladers."

"Then they likely know more than they need to. Take out anyone near him. We cannot have the only people able to stop my plot running around freely."

"Of course, Mr. Yoshi."

"Stop calling me that!"

* * *

"Have we lost that creepy tail yet?" Kenta asked as his group trekked through the desert on foot.

"Working on it." Ryuto said, working to obscure their footprints as they moved along.

"If they still have a visual on us, that alone won't work." Sakyo said, walking only half a step behind the hooded figure leading them, who paused suddenly.

"We're surrounded." He said gruffly.

"Fighting it is then." Kenta said determinedly, pulling out his launcher and Sagittario in one smooth motion and looking around just as their stalkers came into view.

"What do you want?" Takanosuke challenged.

"You are all a threat to our master's plans. We have orders to destroy you."

Takanosuke recoiled at this, having not expected that answer. Kenta and the others all glanced at their hooded comrade, eyebrows raised questioningly, but he remained silent.

"You will not be taking us that easily." Kenta said. "We're stopping your plans."

"We have your friend, Gingka, already in our grasp. The only bey that has been known to defeat him consistently cannot be allowed to remain active." The villainous group said, raising both launchers and weapons.

"Fools." the hooded figure said, shaking his head as the ground beneath him pulsed with power that had begun to flow from him. Even Kenta looked slightly unnerved at this, although he looked the least frightened of anyone.

"Ryuto, Sakyo, Takanosuke, we're going to stop this ourselves." Kenta said, launching his bey and knocking several of their foes out of commission before the others could initiate an attack.

"Right." The other three said, launching their beys as well and following behind Kenta. Somewhat surprisingly, Sakyo and Takanosuke were knocked out quite quickly by the first onslaught of their opponents. Ryuto hung on a bit longer, but soon enough, only Kenta was left in the fight.

For quite some time, it looked as if Kenta's power was all that was needed for the group to take down the opponents who were trying to kill them, but soon, even the Legendary Blader began to falter in his movements.

"Enough." the hooded blader said, stepping forwards and casting his cloak aside, his golden eyes flashing brilliantly in the light of the red-orange flames that were appearing and rapidly expanding from around him. Takanosuke, if he had not already been sitting on the ground, felt as if he would have fallen over anyway from sheer terror at the expression on the face of this blader he could not remember ever seeing before. Judging by the looks on the faces of nearly everyone around him, he was not the only one who was afraid, although he did seem to be the only one who had no clue why.

"Y-you have dared defy our master. You will pay for this." The one who seemed to be leading the group stammered, barely able to face the person he was speaking to.

"Ryuga?" Kenta glanced back at the other, glad to finally see the familiar face of his old friend.

"You think you can fight, much less defeat the dragon emperor? Pathetic." Ryuga said, widening his stance and pulling out the black bey that he had long controlled as his partner.

Kenta could not hide his satisfied smirk at the fear on their opponents' faces.

"Begone." Ryuga growled, in a tone that many of those present would later swear held a dragon's roar in its tones. The threat alone was enough to send half of the enemy forces running for the hills. Those who managed to stand their ground soon regretted it, as the flames of the dragon they had dared poke with a stick sent them all flying the instant it hit.

"... Who is he, and did he even launch?" Takanosuke asked in awe, barely even realizing that he was still sitting on the ground.

"Ryuga. The Dragon Emperor and the one who gave me Dragoon." Sakyo answered quietly as the flames subsided and the blader in question snatched his bey out of the air as it flew back to his hand. "It is true that Gingka Hagane holds the official title of the world's strongest, but from what I have heard, even he has only defeated Ryuga once."

"Ryua has only been defeated twice since I met him." Kenta said. "Once by Gingka, the second time by Nemesis. Don't mention the latter to him unless you want to be glared at."

"G-got it… I don't want to make him mad ever." Takanosuke gulped.

"Nobody does." Ryuto laughed.

"Enough talking. Let's keep moving." Ryuga grunted, picking up his cloak and throwing it back around his shoulders.

"Of course." Kenta chuckled, as the group gathered themselves back up and took to following Ryuga once more through the desert.


	11. Fighting

"So… Are you going to explain to us what all is going on here, or are we going to be left in the dark?" Kenta asked hours later as his group sat around a campfire, all eyes expectantly turned towards Ryuga at the question.

Ryuga sighed through his nose at this, poking at the fire and a few roasting fish with a stick for several moments before replying. "Nemesis' revival this soon requires some sort of additional power." He said. "Those goons had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to do it, but I have had enough experience with that method of power gain to know to blast them to oblivion at the suggestion that I try it again."

"You mean like what happened with Lightning L-Drago?" Kenta guessed.

Ryuga nodded, remaining silent for a few more moments before setting his stick down and meeting Kenta's gaze with his own. "I fought Nemesis on my own originally because I wanted to steal its power. But anyone even trying to control that power will be taken by it and consumed. That is what I learned in the pit I was trapped in while I recovered from my own attempt."

"So basically, your defeat was better than a victory would have been, considering your intentions." Kenta said.

Ryuga scowled, but nodded reluctantly. "The one they really needed was Hagane. Contacting me, however they figured out where I was, was their attempt at getting me on their side."

"But of course you didn't want to be taking orders from someone else." Ryuto guessed.

Ryuga scoffed at this. "I had enough of following orders from Doji, why should someone even more crazy deserve my attention?"

"So they wanted you, that fell through, somehow they need Gingka, and have him, what's the plan?" Kenta asked.

"Destroy their plans." Ryuga scoffed again, resuming his poking at the fire.

"... How?" Kenta asked. "Do we even know where they are?"

"No."

"How do we find out then?"

"People like this Akuhito guy always show themselves eventually." Ryuga muttered. "When he does, we do what we do best."

"Charge in and blow his plans to bits?" Ryuto grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"We should try to rescue Gingka if you ask me." Kenta said. "Wouldn't that be better? To stop this guy's plans before he can even start them?"

"He's already begun." Ryuga said, clenching his fist around the stick he was holding so hard that it snapped in half. "I know the wording that guy used with me. It was the typical trickery. The promise of power in exchange for my help. I have power. I am not falling for that type of trick again."

Ryo, meanwhile, was pacing his office impatiently, work that should have been finished hours ago still sitting on his desk and open on his computer. He could not be too bothered with normal, day-to-day tasks of running a major company when he had so much else on his mind. Luckily for him, Hikaru was picking up a fair amount of the work more than usual. Unluckily, Kenta had still not returned from whatever trip he had abruptly taken.

Ryo sighed, leaning against the wall and looking out over the city lights surrounding him. First Kenta had unexpectedly had to leave for something Ryo knew little about, then Himitsu's initial call warning him to hide Gingka had come in, and now Gingka had utterly disappeared, despite their efforts to keep him safe while letting him work on combating the threat at hand.

"Why does everything always have to go so downhill so fast?" Ryo muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead as he wished for days long gone, the days where he could go to sleep at night without having to worry about whether or not some random villain was coming for his son. He only hoped that Gingka was alright, wherever he was. Images flashed in his mind of past times when he had been able to rescue his son. Gingka had been very small the last time he had been in a trouble that Ryo had been able to get him out of…

"UWAHH! DAD HELP! BEAR!"

A much younger Ryo looked up in alarm from where he was chopping wood for the evening's fire, only to spot the small, lithe figure of his only child scrambling and tripping over several fallen logs in a desperate attempt to escape the enormous lumbering creature behind him.

"Hang in there, Gingka! I'm coming!" Ryo called, dropping both the axe and the log he had been holding as he rushed to his son's aid, getting between the child and the bear that was bigger than even Ryo was.

The bear's size did not scare Ryo, however, as his need to protect his only offspring was stronger than the bear's desire to chase said offspring down. With only Gingka's safety in mind, Ryo tackled the bear, shoving it towards a nearby tree and away from the small redhead who was looking to him for safety.

"Go on! Get outta here!" Ryo yelled, picking up a few rocks from a nearby pile and throwing them at the bear as well, trying to drive it off. When this did not immediately work, he raised his launcher and set Pegasus in place on it, then launched, knocking over a tree with one blow. At last, the bear decided that these two humans were not worth the cost it would have to pay, and it lumbered off into the trees.

"Are you okay?" Ryo turned to his son and began checking him over the instant the bear was gone.

"You're so cool dad!" the young Gingka exclaimed, jumping up and throwing his arms around his father in relief. Both redheads teared up slightly, Gingka in relief and Ryo at the fact that his son saw him as a hero.

Ryo sighed heavily and smiled nostalgically as he finished reminiscing. "If only things could go back to being that way…" He muttered, running a hand through his messy red hair. "I feel so helpless now… Since I passed on Pegasus, I haven't been able to protect him… From anything. He's barely done it himself these last few times as well…"

"Director? You still haven't gotten any paperwork done?" Hikaru said as she entered, interrupting Ryo's thoughts.

Ryo sighed heavily. "I haven't been able to focus on it, no…"

"He will be alright, Director." Hikaru said, immediately guessing what was on Ryo's mind. "He's your son, after all. He inherited your stubbornness and resilience."

Ryo chuckled slightly at this. "I only hope that it's enough. We have to find him. After what happened last time and the emotional stress it gave him… I don't want to imagine what state he might be in when we find him this time."

Hikaru nodded as she set yet another stack of paperwork, along with some coffee, on Ryo's desk before leaving.

"Pegasus… If you can still hear me, please.. Keep my boy safe." Ryo whispered, looking up at the constellation shining faintly overhead, barely visible above the bright lights of Tokyo.

The same constellation was currently the only thing keeping Gingka from entirely losing himself within his mind. He was no longer sure whether he was awake, unconscious, asleep, dreaming, not dreaming, or anything else. Emotion had taken too strong of a hold and he was lost in the maze of his own fears and thoughts. Where was he? He was searching for Pegasus, following the winged horse's call, that much he knew. But how was he going to get there? Was he in the middle of a battle where Pegasus was being dragged down into some bottomless pit?

Sometimes, it seemed that way. Sometimes he was reliving the death of Madoka that he had been forced to create in his own mind under the influence of Ziggurat's Arrangement System 2.0. Then he would begin to pull himself back to consciousness, only to hear startled and muffled yells from unfamiliar voices, ordering that he be put under once more.

No… Let me wake up…

Gingka figured these were the snippets of reality that he was being allowed to see, if only for brief periods of time. Yet even then, he was not sure. Perhaps his brain was imagining waking up to escape the nightmare he was reliving again and again, everyone dying, the feeling of drowning in boiling water. Sometimes he felt as if he could move, could run far, far away from everything that was chasing him, run towards Pegasus and the surety the wild horse offered. Other times, he could still feel the bonds restraining him, as he strained against them. They seemed tighter to him every time, he noted, with a feeling that stopped just short of full panic.

"Is everything ready?"

The voices were there again, muffled as usual. Gingka was beginning to hate them, all the more for the fact that he could barely make out doctors' uniforms surrounding him.

"He's waking up again."

"So put him back under."

"Is it safe for him to be under this long?"

"It doesn't matter."

Gingka wanted to let out a cry of protest at this, but all he could manage was a half-hearted, weak tug against the restraints still binding him.

"Hurry. He's going to fight back if we don't."

Gingka fixated on those words. Fight back. That was what he wanted to do, what he should have been doing all this time instead of panicking. He was trapped. He needed to fight back. The thought was so simple, yet so powerful in holding his attention that he barely even noticed he was again fully shrouded in the depths of unconsciousness. He reached desperately for the latent power that he knew was there, in the depths of his mind.

His trail began there, among the stars that he was so familiar with. He followed the trail, the path of blazing speed and power enshrouded in pure light. He knew Pegasus waited just ahead for him, the horse too wild to tame waiting for its equally wild and crazy partner. Gingka figured that, with the horse's power and his partnership with it, he could fight back.

He hesitated for a moment once he saw it, the gleaming armor resting proudly on the stoic animal that was, and always had, emanated nothing but power. Was fighting the right choice? Last time he had been sure it was, it had turned out to be quite the opposite, and he had prolonged his own nightmare. Had he realized sooner then that his fighting was what was powering the nightmare, he would not have seen all of the horrifying things that he had. But he dared not risk defeat by laying down and accepting what was happening.

With this in mind, Gingka resumed his stride, rushing towards the safety his oldest and closest friend offered him. He was in the saddle in a moment, gaze fixed firmly between the blue ears and helmet of the creature.

"Let's go, Pegasus…" He whispered, leaning forwards into the saddle and throwing all of his willpower into returning the way he had come.

Pegasus tossed its head and surged forwards, an unstoppable force slamming straight through his mind and against the foggy barrier preventing him from returning to consciousness.

"Keep going!" Gingka yelled, feeling weakened by his efforts but knowing that he had to do this. He had to wake up. It was the only way he was going to escape this nightmare and return to reality. He would rather deal with the taunts of Akuhito and whatever doctors, fight this fight a million times over, than be returned to wandering aimlessly in a sea of panic.

It was not long before Gingka lost track of how long he had been pushing against the wall with all of Pegasus' might. But it did not matter once the cracks in the wall in front of him began to spread and falter.

"What? He's waking up? Impossible, he should be under for quite a while longer. Increase the dosage!"

"Sir if we do that it might cause trouble."

Gingka used these words to strengthen himself further. He could hear his captors, therefore he was closer to breaking out of this darkness than he had thought. With all the willpower he had left, he gave one last push, a hoarse yell escaping his throat, his real throat, as he became victorious.

"Impossible…" The voices he had been hearing were clearer now, though still slightly muffled.

Gingka revelled for several minutes in even the soreness of his dry, aching throat, using it as a focal point to keep the consciousness he had just fought so desperately to regain. He took several deep breaths before opening his eyes in defiance of those who had dared try to keep him under.

The moment he opened his eyes, Gingka dearly wished he had not.

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 **I come back, I leave cliffhangers, you leave reviews (hopefully)? I shall return sooner next time than the last, my friends!**


	12. Reunion

Himitsu was far away by the time anyone realized she was gone. She had no clue where she was going, but she knew that she could find her way. She had found out how to call Ryo, after all. Surely she could find her way physically to him without too much trouble. She would much rather have used her skill at sneaking around to bring Gingka with her, but she knew that that was too dangerous to risk. Despite how badly as she wanted to see him again, to see who he had become and what he looked like now, she refrained. There would be a heavy guard around him, and she would need her father's permission to even get through any of the doors. Even being the daughter of the one in charge was not a good enough reason to be let through security of that level.

Himitsu sighed, doubts entering her mind. She was outside, but now what? With no map to guide her and only a handful of money that she hoped would be enough, she was on her own. Would Ryo even want to see her? She had been helping him, sure, but she could tell that he had not realized the full truth about her.

 _"Setsuna, how many times have I told you not to go outside and speak to strange men!"_

 _"But father, I-!"_

 _"No buts! Go back to your room! I will not have my only daughter be running off with some riff-raff blader!"_

The woman sighed in exasperation and paused for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to get rid of the memories that had been popping up in her head since late last night when she had built up the courage to sneak past the guards at her own back door and leave. She was not entirely sure how to interact with people but surely it was easier than interacting with her father. No social interaction could be harder than forcing herself to pretend she was okay with all that that tyrant had put her through. Honestly, she thought to herself, it was probably criminal of him to have kept her locked up for so long. She could not even quite remember the last time she had been truly outside. She had never truly been free.

It took nearly two days for Himitsu to reach Tokyo. By the time she got there, she was completely exhausted, having spent very little of that time sleeping. Even her sleep had been often interrupted by paranoia that her father's agents would find her and take her back. She had completely run out of the small amount of money that she had managed to bring with her from home. Basically, she was in trouble if she did not accomplish her goal soon.

Himitsu was exhausted, hungry, sore, and lost, but her determination kept her going as it always had. Her only chance was to find out where the WBBA was. If she failed that before her father found her or hunger and cold drove her insane, then all was lost. As the woman looked up, she realized that she was surprisingly close to her destination. She wrapped her arms close around herself, hugging the bag she had brought with her close to her chest, and trotted dutifully towards the tall building at the end of the block.

At first, the Tokyo WBBA building looked quite warm and inviting, brightly lit even despite how late it was getting. But the closer Himitsu got, the more doubts entered her mind. Would she be let in? If she were let in, would she be allowed to stay? Would Ryo let her come see him, not knowing who she was, even despite her calling to warn him of the danger Gingka was in?

"But I have to go.." She whispered. "I have to see him. I have to let him know, otherwise… Gingka may not stand a chance. I have to try."

With this thought in mind, she stepped towards the building and put her hand on the door, taking a deep breath before pulling it open and stepping inside, shivering slightly and rubbing her hands up and down her arms slightly. The dimmed lighting in the lobby provided just enough light to see by without being too extreme of a change from outside. At the other side of the tiled and freshly-cleaned floor was the reception desk, with a young female worker sitting at it and typing things into the computer. The worker looked up in surprise as Himitsu approached, noting the long and slightly tangled hair and dusty light blue dress she was wearing.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the worker asked the older woman.

"I-I need to see your director, please. It's urgent." Himitsu said, trying to keep her voice steady.

The worker at the desk raised an eyebrow. "Do you have an appointment with Director Hagane?"

"I- no.. He doesn't know I'm coming." Himitsu sighed. "B-but, I have spoken to him on the phone recently, if you just tell him that Himitsu is here, he should let me see him."

The young woman looked hesitant, but picked up her desk phone. "I cannot promise that he will let you see him, ma'am. But I will see."

"Thank you miss." Himitsu nodded politely.

The worker motioned her hand towards a few rows of cushioned chairs. "Please have a seat while you wait." she said, putting the phone to her ear and pressing a few buttons.

"Oh, thank you." Himitsu turned and sat down in the nearest chair, fidgeting with her bag and trying to calm herself down. Everything she was doing was terrifying to her. Tokyo was much larger than she had thought it would be, she realized, having never seen any group of buildings larger than the small town she had grown up and spent her entire life so far on the edge of. She felt slightly closed in, even despite the large lobby she was sitting in. The bird who had spent its entire life locked in a cage had finally taken the chance to get out, and now felt only the empty air with nothing in sight that was secure to land on.

"Director, do you have a moment?" Hikaru's voice interrupted Ryo's focus on his work, which he was barely managing to do anyway. The redhead sighed and looked up at his assistant, his eyes bloodshot, with dark circles of worry and weariness underneath them.

"What for?" he muttered, stretching for a moment and realizing that he had been hunched over his desk for much longer than he had thought.

"The front desk worker just called. She said there's a Himitsu here who wants to see you." Hikaru said.

Ryo froze for a second before looking at Hikaru in disbelief. "Himitsu?" He said, unsure if he had heard her right.

"Yes." Hikaru replied. "Here."

"... Send her up immediately." Ryo said, urgency in his voice as he closed everything he had been working on, unable to focus in even the slightest anymore on any of it. He had not been making much progress anyway, he thought wryly.

As Hikaru nodded and went to call the receptionist back and relay Ryo's orders, the redhead sank into his chair and rested his chin in his hand, tapping on his desk anxiously with the other hand. He was not sure at all why Himitsu would be here, if this was a trick, if her father had found out about her calls to him and was sending someone as a threat to him. He knew that he could not back down. Perhaps Himitsu had decided to come personally because she was in danger? Or worse, because there was something so urgent that she had felt the need to speak with him in person?

A million thoughts ran through Ryo's mind, and he could have sworn he felt more of his hair turning grey because of them. He forced himself to stay calm and not assume anything, but then again, talks with the secretive woman had only ever been of the extremely serious type. He shook as he worried for his son's well-being. There was no point in thinking of his safety, Gingka was already not in a safe place. Ryo only hoped that his son was unharmed for the time being.

"Director, she is here now." Hikaru called, opening the door and letting in a woman who was immediately familiar to Ryo.

Ryo stood so quickly that he knocked over his chair in his shock. "Y-You…" he whispered in trembling tones.

The travel-wearied woman standing just inside the doorway bit her lip slightly and smiled sadly. "It.. Has been a long time, Ryo."

Ryo took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. "I.. thought you never wanted to see me again…"

She shook her head. "My father lied to you. It was he that never wanted to see you again after what we did behind his back." she slowly approached him. "I hope… You aren't bothered by seeing me? Even though it isn't under the best of circumstances?"

Ryo motioned Hikaru out of the room as he stepped towards the woman and hugged her tightly against his chest. "You are my wife… There is no other person I would rather see under these circumstances." He whispered, fighting to keep himself from sobbing. "Setsuna.. I missed you so much."

"We don't have much time to catch up, I'm afraid… I managed to escape but my father will have noticed me gone and.. Might guess that I would come here to you." Setsuna sniffled, burying her dusty face into Ryo's suit.

"Let him come." Ryo muttered angrily. "He won't be ruining anything else for us. It was long past time you were able to escape from him." he put a hand on Setsuna's cheek and gently swiped away the tears from her eyes with his thumb, tilting her head up slightly to look at her face. "Twenty years… You're still so beautiful."

Setsuna managed a trembling smile at this. "I had hoped you wouldn't have forgotten me."

"I could never. You still have the piece of my heart that I gave you, after all."

She blushed at this. "You still know how to do that?"

"Do what?" Ryo asked innocently, a mischievous grin on his face, his problems momentarily forgotten at the joy of seeing his wife again.

Setsuna sighed and leaned her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Everything right…"

Ryo's expression softened into a gentle, sad smile. "Not everything… But a lot of things, sure."

"... We have to get Gingka out." She said suddenly, pulling away from him.

"Do you know where he is?" Ryo asked, mentally smacking himself for having forgotten about the enormous problem at hand.

"I wish I did… But no. He is not at my old family home, I know that much. I snooped around there with the hope of being able to see him after he was taken captive, but found nothing. It wasn't very likely that he would be kept there anyway, my father does know who he is to us."

Ryo nodded gravely. "I've had people on it searching, but… Nothing. He was taken captive in China, but since your father is in Japan, it seems more likely that he would be here. That.. At least somewhat narrows our search, possibly." he pulled up a second chair next to his own at his desk and sat down, Setsuna sitting next to him.

"What do we do then?" She asked.

"Any other information you have, I need. Anything you can think of that you weren't able to tell me over the phone due to risk of being caught." he said urgently, grasping her hand in his as he used his other hand to use his computer.

Setsuna nodded, determination filling her grey-blue eyes. "What do we do after that?" She asked as she began to wrack her brain for information that she had not already relayed.

Ryo looked deeply into her eyes, the same determination filling his own. "We call everyone else involved and tell them."

The two nodded in sync, parental instincts on high alert as they began to furiously gather their information into one place. They would find their son. They were determined to. They had been denied the ability to raise him together, but they would not be denied the ability to save him together.

* * *

 **AHHHHH I'm not even gonna say that I'll try to update this sooner than last time because I keep breaking that promise but HERE WE ARE AGAIN. WITH FEELS. AND PLOT REVEALS. BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW WHAT 'HIMITSU' BEING GINGKA'S MOTHER, MEANS RIGHT? _THE VILLAIN IS GINGKA'S GRANDFATHER._ So take that dramatic plot twist and still-unresolved cliffhanger and I shall see you next time!**


	13. Darkness

"Don't bother putting him under again at this point." Akuhito said as he entered the room, clearly quite grumpy at the moment. He had just been informed that his daughter was missing, and he was not happy about it, but figured he would find and scold her later after he had achieved what he wanted. "Though I do wonder, Hagane.. How did you force your way through a full dose of sedatives?" he narrowed his grey-blue eyes at his captive, wondering for a moment what the redhead would think if he knew that Akuhito was in fact his grandfather.

"That…" Gingka panted, his speech slightly slurred from still being the slightest bit under the influence of the sedation, "is none of your business.."

"Stubborn as always." Akuhito shook his head and chuckled darkly. "Though, I do believe it is my business to ask what you think of what, or rather, who, you see before you?" he gestured at what was just across from Gingka, which the redhead had naturally noticed the instant he awoke.

Gingka swallowed thickly. He had been avoiding looking at that… thing since his first glimpse of it. However, looking at it was really somewhat unavoidable, considering how enormous the dark purple crystal surging with latent, sealed away power was; not to mention how terrifying the two figures visible inside looked.

Rago and Pluto should have been dead ages ago, when they were consumed by Nemesis. At least, that was what Gingka had always presumed. As he looked at them now, he debated in his mind whether or not they were technically alive, twisted and horrifying as they looked.

"I think…" He grunted after several seconds, still fighting to keep himself from going back under, "That whatever you're planning, it will fail just as it has the other five times."

"Oh but with you here, it can't fail." Akuhito said proudly. "Because, you see, I have found a way to connect your power with that of Nemesis. And surely, that power combined will be unbeatable."

"You can't have turned Nemesis into a synchrom bey." Gingka narrowed his eyes. "Even if you did, there's no way that you could get me, even subconsciously, to turn my spirit towards working with it, that's not how that combination works. Plus, you tried that before with a less powerful bey, and even what little of Pegasus' power Kira was able to use was not enough to fulfill your goals."

Akuhito laughed. "Oh but I did learn from that little incident. I am not stupid, Gingka." He said the redhead's name venomously, as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. "You are at the peak of your power now, quite likely. Even if you were to get stronger over more time, more time is not something that we need. You are familiar, of course, with how a certain bey owned by an old.. Shall we say, acquaintance, of yours, worked? A certain.. Dragon bey, perhaps?"

Gingka narrowed his eyes, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach at Akuhito's words. Clearly, the older man was referencing Ryuga and his L-Drago.

"Trying to lock Nemesis' power into anything other than itself does not work in the slightest." Akuhito continued, gesturing to Rago's twisted form inside the large crystal. "Only one blader could even withstand launching it without being utterly consumed. You already know what happened to Ryuga when he tried to take the power for his own. It would be pointless of me to even try merely combining Nemesis' power with Pegasus, that much I already knew."

"You can't steal Pegasus' power with Nemesis either." Gingka grunted. "I've beaten it once and I can do it again. I don't have to be able to move myself."

"Oh but you already do not have a choice." Akuhito smiled wryly, stepping closer to the trapped blader and noting with some pleasure that he was trembling ever so slightly. "I don't need to steal the power from your bey. Your connection with it is strong enough that I can tap directly into you to take it for Nemesis."

Gingka's eyes widened at this, confusion and fear filling his foggy mind. "W-what..?" he whispered breathlessly.

Akuhito spun away from his captive to look up at the crystal himself. "And I won't even need Nemesis to be spinning. It has its power. Had you and your allies been looking closer at this desolate island over the past few years, they would have seen the weapon that I have been working on. It will turn anything I wish into a point of darkness that can suck in any light that comes too close. Only the places I deem to be safe will be."

"Nemesis is sealed… It doesn't have the power to do that." Gingka snapped, straining forwards at the bonds that held him.

Akuhito looked over his shoulder with a cruel smirk. "Have you not been listening? Of course, it doesn't… But you do."

Gingka could not hold back the involuntary shudder that ran through his body at the sound of those words. He could faintly hear a beeping sound to his left indicating that his heart rate was rising rapidly.

"Now now, no need to panic. You won't have to watch what happens, you'll merely be feeling it." Akuhito laughed.

Gingka glared at him, reaching out tendrils in his mind to figure out where Pegasus physically was in the waking world. He had an idea, but he was not sure he had time or ability to execute it.

"Begin the final preparations." Akuhito called to his workers, who began scurrying about once again. "Considering that he managed to force himself out of it, it matters not whether he is awake or unconscious… He just needs to be precisely where he is now."

The workers nodded in acknowledgement of Akuhito's words as the older man stepped up into a viewing platform to monitor everything that was going on. "Begin when ready." He commanded. "We will simply have to deal with him able to fight back somewhat."

Gingka gritted his teeth at this. If they were worried about him fighting back, a fight is what he fully intended to give them. He was not sure if he could fight sedation and a power drain at the same time, however, he certainly could try his best. The main thing that terrified him was that he was not sure what precisely he needed to fight against. Holding on to his power, certainly, and staying awake, but what else? It was the method of draining his power that he was uncertain about.

"Come, my friends." Akuhito called to the two dark ones encased in the crystal. "Take your revenge while he is helpless to resist."

It was the moment that two pairs of glowing, blood red eyes turned to focus on him that Gingka nearly lost his mind to panic. He recoiled so sharply from the sight that the back of his head made quite the loud clanging sound on the metal wall he was clamped against. The combination of the sudden shock and impact to his head stunned him for a few seconds, and he almost did not notice the dark tendrils of energy shooting out towards him.

"Fool. He's doomed himself." Akuhito chuckled as he saw the redhead shaking his head to get rid of the headache his reaction had caused.

Nemesis' hollow laugh sent chills down the spines of everyone watching, Akuhito included, though he was grinning madly at the scene before him.

Gingka snapped his eyes to the tendrils suddenly, reflexively summoning an enormous amount of his power. A brilliant blue glow engulfed him, the ground shaking as the tendrils struck against a ball of pure blue flame. The redhead swallowed thickly, pushing through the pounding pain in the back of his head and staring down those terrifying eyes with his own as they glowed the same brilliant blue as the rest of his aura.

"What?!" Akuhito's shocked reaction brought a smirk to the redhead's face as he directed a small portion of his focus out to find Pegasus again. The bey had to be nearby, he knew it. If he could simply find a way to get it spinning… He doubted such a thing was entirely possible with just his mind, but he had to try.

Expending this much power without anywhere to actually direct it proved to be much more difficult than Gingka had honestly expected. He could feel himself beginning to weaken already under the onslaught of darkness, but in the moment where he felt his power about to fail, he spotted Pegasus. Surprisingly, it was laying on a small pedestal just in front of the crystal. Gingka had expected they would have been keeping it locked somewhere.

Gingka inhaled deeply, refocusing all of his power on himself as he began to slip. He knew that expending any more power at this point would cause him to lose consciousness, as it had all those years ago when he and Kyoya had battled until they both fainted from it. But he had to try the idea that had entered his mind. It was crazy, insane, even. Madoka would probably be saying that it was downright impossible if she were reading his mind right now. But insane was what Gingka needed right this second.

His powerful aura was shrinking and flickering under the onslaught of Nemesis' darkness. It had to be done now. Gingka inhaled deeply and held his breath for a moment, closing his eyes. The noise of Nemesis' laughter faded from his ears as he focused intently, finding a connection amongst the darkness and fixating on it for a split second before snapping his eyes back open.

A fierce, desperate cry of "Pegasus!" rang out over the maniacal laughter of Nemesis before the shrunken orb surrounding Gingka's body suddenly expanded into a pillar of brilliant blue light that lit up the sky for miles around it. Akuhito and his workers were thrown to the ground from the resulting shockwave, which damaged much of their surrounding equipment as well.

All fell silent as the dust settled from the sudden outpouring of energy Gingka had just displayed.

"What happened?!" Akuhito angrily demanded to know, coughing and wincing as his workers helped him get back to his feet and fixed a few things that had been overturned.

"His bey vanished!" One exclaimed in shock, looking around the pedestal and in any logical place for Pegasus to have been thrown, but finding nothing.

"Find it! Anything else?" Akuhito snapped, before seeing what he was truly looking for and smirking before cackling. "Oh, but it seems we need not worry after all… Nemesis seems to have hold of him."

All eyes turned towards where Gingka was at this statement. The redhead was hanging limply from the wall, almost lifelessly, one might say. Nemesis' many tendrils had combined into merely two; one wrapped around the Pegasus' blader's throat while the other had essentially speared him through the heart. What few tendrils of his blue power could be seen were flowing slowly but steadily into the dark ones that had fallen silent upon completing their connection to him.

"... Is he dead?" One worker asked slowly, all of them shuddering slightly at the terrifying scene before them.

"The fool simply attempted to use all of his power at once to push Nemesis back… It only resulted in his failure." Akuhito said smugly. "Because it was already beginning to drain at him before he attempted to destroy it, it merely absorbed any energy he output to do so. Now it will continually drain what little power attempts to return to him, and he will be an infinite supply of power for the very thing he once destroyed. His pathetic attempt at stopping us with that surge of power has only ensured that he will never wake again. He has weakened himself too much."

With those words, Akuhito stepped down from his viewing platform and approached Gingka, standing and staring at him for a moment before reaching up and grabbing the redhead's chin, tilting his head so he could see his face better. "Had I known what you would become twenty-two years ago, perhaps I would have thought twice about scaring you and your father away from my daughter." He muttered to himself. "But then again, would you have become the same blader without the way things ended up working for you? It is… Interesting to think about, to say the least." He smirked at the pale, expressionless face for a moment before releasing his hold and allowing it to drop back down.

"Continue to monitor him. He does need to stay alive for our plans to fully succeed. But stage one has been completed." He instructed as he left the area entirely.

* * *

 **And this is the part, I assume, where everyone hates me for tormenting poor Gingka _again_ especially after the adorableness of the last chapter. Quite the mood shift, eh? I shall be cackling at any angry or shocked reviews that you send my way, while I work on the next chapter. ^_^ (Ironic that this is chapter 13 where things start to _really_ go downhill for our favorite redhead, eh?)**


	14. Despair

**Ahahahaha I keep taking way too long to get motivation for chapters again, don't I? To anyone who is still around reading this, thanks for sticking around. I DO plan on finishing it eventually, even if it takes me super long to do so. (Though as I keep saying every time, I hope I'll manage to get the next chapter out soon.) Anyways, this chapter is kinda full of angst, so brace yourselves and enjoy. :)**

* * *

"Director." Hikaru said, entering the room where Ryo and Setsuna had been feverishly working away combining their knowledge in an attempt to find their son.

Ryo looked up, his golden-brown eyes exhausted from the long hours of staring at a screen. "Yes, Hikaru?" he asked wearily, almost ready to give up entirely.

"A massive energy signature was detected by our satellites." She said, approaching the two quickly and holding out her tablet.

"What kind of energy signature?" Ryo asked slowly, reaching for the device and looking at what was displayed on the screen.

"It came from the island. Nemesis must be active again." Hikaru said.

Ryo swallowed thickly. "We have to do something about this. Do we have any pictures of it, or just the data?"

"Just the data." Hikaru sighed. "It didn't last long. Less than a minute of a surge."

Ryo frowned, still staring at the data pattern, Setsuna looking curiously over his shoulder, though she understood none of it.

"Something isn't right about this. Hikaru, do we still have scans from the last time Nemesis was awake?"

"I believe so, Director. Should I go find them?" She asked.

Ryo nodded. "Please send them and these to my computer. And try to get in contact with any of the Legendary Bladers who we can. I'm going to call Madoka for help analyzing this data."

Hikaru nodded, took her tablet back from the redhead, and swiftly left the room.

"You keep tabs on a lot of things here." Setsuna said, impressed.

Ryo ran his fingers through his hair and nodded as he began cleaning up the stacks of papers they had been examining. "Tournaments around the world, threats to bladers, we do cover a lot." He set the papers aside and turned to his computer, finding that Hikaru had already managed to send him the information he had asked for. Just as he was reaching for the controls to call Madoka, a notification popped up on his screen that she was in fact calling him.

"Maybe she found something." He mused, answering. "Madoka. I was just about to call you."

"Did you see the shooting star?" Madoka asked, her eyes wide and voice breathless with worry.

Ryo paused. "No, I've been inside all this time focusing on something else. Oh, this is Setsuna by the way. My wife and Gingka's mother." He gestured just behind himself to the grey-eyed woman standing there.

A perplexed look crossed Madoka's face at this, the brunette clearly wondering both where the older woman had been, why she had never heard of her until now, and how she had managed to pop up at such an odd time. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Hagane." She said politely. "I'm Madoka, Madoka Amano."

"She's Gingka's fiance." Ryo said. "And an expert on bey mechanics."

"Nice to meet you too, Madoka." Setsuna said with a gentle smile.

"What were you saying about a shooting star that was interesting enough for you to call me about it?" Ryo asked.

"You remember that when the original star fragments came to Earth, I was busy repairing Pegasus?" Madoka said, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

"Yes..?" Ryo said slowly, looking confused but thoughtful.

"They looked like very brilliant shooting stars then." Madoka explained. "The one I just saw a little bit ago looked just like them. It came from the direction of Nemesis' island."

Ryo frowned. "We were just detecting a large energy surge there, which I was going to call you about when you called me."

Madoka nodded, her tone becoming more and more grave as she spoke. "You weren't there, but do you remember what we told you of how Kenta became a Legendary Blader?"

"Ryuga's fragment passed to him when he was defeated and died, as we assume." Ryo nodded slowly, becoming nervous at what Madoka was implying.

Madoka gulped and nodded. "I was talking to Aguma about it. We.. We think something similar may have happened."

Ryo slowly sat down in his chair to process what he had just heard. The room fell silent for several seconds. Setsuna looked somewhat confused as she glanced between her husband and the brunette on his computer screen. The grave looks on both of their faces was making her feel incredibly uneasy.

"To summarize…" Ryo said slowly, wishing he did not have to think about what he was saying, "The WBBA detected an energy surge from that island. You saw a shooting star that came from that direction, looking brilliant like the star fragments from all those years ago. What you are saying, based on what you saw and what my data confirms here… Is that you think Gingka was battling Nemesis, causing the power surge. And, you are saying that it is likely he was defeated badly, causing him to have to pass his fragment on."

Madoka nodded in confirmation of this. Neither of them said what was the final verdict in both of their minds: Gingka could be gone forever.

"Will he be okay..?" Setsuna whispered slowly.

Ryo shook his head and looked down. "I wish… But no… If Madoka's theory is correct, there is no possible way that he is alright."

All three looked down, solemn looks on their faces. Setsuna felt tears welling up for the son she had not gotten a chance to know. If only she had been able to do more to stop her father from taking him. But she had been helpless to do anything but call Ryo, sit back, and watch. At least everyone else had been able to be with the younger redhead, making whatever attempts they had been to keep him safe.

"Pegasus was shining so brightly…" Madoka said quietly, looking upwards at the night sky. "Now it's dim again."

Static interrupted all of their thoughts before Ryo could respond to Madoka's last statement. All three covered their ears, wincing before it cut out.

"Well, haven't things gotten interesting."

It was the same voice from before, the voice that had first warned them that something was about to happen before they had discovered it themselves. It was the voice that had somehow hacked through all of the WBBA's security systems without leaving a trace.

"Who are you and what more do you know?" Ryo asked coolly, trying to not explode in anger at this person who had clearly known all along more than they did.

"It would take quite some time to explain all of that." The man on the other end sounded displeased. "You will gather everyone necessary, all of the Legendary Bladers you are in contact with, as well as Hagane's friends, and will meet me at the place where the mechanic is. I will explain there."

"We don't know if we can trust you." Ryo said firmly. "Which side are you on?"

"For the most part, nobody's. But I have a score to settle with our mutual enemy. You will meet me there. I have no time for questions from anyone."

"Give us something that proves you're not with them." Ryo said firmly. "Then we will agree to your demands."

"Just trust us, Mr. Hagane. And, uh… I'll explain everything when we meet up." Kenta's voice came sheepishly through the speakers.

"Kenta?!" Ryo and Madoka exclaimed in shock.

"If that is enough for you," the stranger's voice spat, "Then you will be at the exact spot I said within twenty-four hours."

"... We'll be there." Ryo said firmly. "But we expect to know everything."

A dial tone indicated that Kenta and his mysterious caller had hung up the moment Ryo had finished his sentence.

"... Well… I think we know now how that guy called directly to you without being detected." Madoka said slowly, her voice shaking somewhat.

"Something about the tone of that man's voice scares me…" Setsuna said quietly.

Ryo nodded. "Me too… I can't put a finger on why though."

"Me either… It's somewhat familiar yet at the same time.. Not." Madoka sighed.

"We should get some sleep I suppose…" Ryo sighed. "I want to try to send someone to Nemesis' island, but, considering the energy surge, that may be too dangerous without everyone all together anyway."

Madoka nodded. "So… We gather, hear what this guy has to say, and then everyone should head straight there."

Ryo nodded. "And if there is still a chance we can save Gingka, we will do it." He said determinedly.

* * *

"So, there was information his father had that just confirms our theory then." Aguma said matter-of-factly once Madoka had reported the results of her conversation with Ryo to him and the others.

Madoka nodded, trying to hold back tears and absentmindedly fiddling with the ring that was still on her finger. "Yeah… We can only hope that somehow… He…" She stopped talking and bit her lip, afraid to say anything else lest she break down fully.

"Let's go get you something to drink." Chao Xin offered suddenly, stepping up beside the brunette and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Mei Mei was just about to make some tea, I think, weren't you Mei Mei?" He looked pointedly at his teammate, who looked flustered for a moment before catching on and nodding, rushing off to heat some water.

Madoka merely nodded numbly, feeling as if her world was falling apart. She had thought that things would be alright after the last incident, that they could all finally relax without having to save the world yet again. Yet here she was, yet again, with everything having gone downhill in a matter of less than a week. She barely noticed the gentle hand on her shoulder that was guiding her off to a nearby seat to sit down.

Da Xiang and Aguma had moved off to the side to discuss in low tones what to do about the mysterious man who was apparently supposed to arrive soon, bringing Kenta with him. Neither of them said it, but they were also worried about what the shooting star and surge of energy likely meant for their friend. They put it out of their minds by discussing the actions that would need to be taken, preparations that would need to be made for the rather large number of Gingka's friends and allies who were about to cross their doorstep.

"Shouldn't we all start by getting some rest?" Chi Yun asked suddenly as Mei Mei brought a full tray of tea out. "We've barely stopped to even eat since Gingka disappeared and Madoka got here."

The others looked around at each other as they took their teacups from the tray as Mei Mei passed it around, nodding in realization.

"If we're going directly after this meeting to fight Nemesis, as it sounds like, we'll need the rest." Da Xiang said. "We'll calm down with this," he gestured to the tea in his hand, "then go to bed. Tomorrow morning we'll clean up the courtyard and dismiss the trainees for a while so that the temple is empty when our guests arrive. That way we won't have to worry about any training things while we're trying to solve the larger problem at hand."

"Agreed." Aguma said, nodding before taking a sip of his tea and sighing as he set it down beside him.

"I think I'll head off to bed now…" Madoka said softly, setting her tea aside after only a few sips of it.

"Alright. Sleep well, Madoka." Chao Xin said, opening the door to the room for the brunette as she walked out, giving him a faint nod in thanks.

"She's hit by this harder than any of us." Mei Mei sighed.

"I don't blame her." Chao Xin replied, picking up his tea again and taking another sip. "Her fiance is missing and possibly gone forever, after all."

"Madoka is a strong woman. She'll be fine." Aguma said, setting his empty cup aside. "We shouldn't worry about her too much."

"We still gotta be there for her, though." Chao Xin pointed out, looking towards the door Madoka had left through.

"We will be. There are plenty of people around to support her. Right now we need to focus on getting rest and preparing for tomorrow." Da Xiang said.

The others nodded in agreement as they finished their tea, Mei Mei collecting the cups swiftly and taking them back to the kitchen as the others dispersed and went to their own beds.

* * *

Not many of Gingka's friends slept well that night, the redhead's possible fate weighing heavily on their minds. Nobody wanted to believe that he might be gone. Perhaps there was still hope that he could be saved. It was the tiny, flickering light of hope that Gingka himself had always held and spoken of that kept the flame of determination alive in their hearts.

"We can still save him."


End file.
